Relief Therapeutics Appoints World-Renowned Gene Therapy Pioneer Guangping Gao, Ph.D. as Chair of Scientific Advisory Board

Relief Therapeutics Holding SA / Key word(s): Personnel

03-Apr-2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
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Relief Therapeutics Appoints World-Renowned Gene Therapy Pioneer Guangping Gao, Ph.D. as Chair of Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Gao has made foundational contributions in the discovery and characterization of adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes which were instrumental in the resurgence of gene therapy

GENEVA, APRIL 3, 2023 – RELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding SA (SIX: RLF, OTCQB: RLFTF, RLFTY) ("Relief Therapeutics" or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing treatment paradigms to benefit the lives of patients living with rare diseases, today announces the appointment of world-renowned gene therapy pioneer Guangping Gao, Ph.D. as the chair of the Company’s newly formed scientific advisory board (SAB). Dr. Gao is the co-director of the Li Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases Research, director of the Horae Gene Therapy Center and Viral Vector Core, professor of microbiology and physiological systems, and Penelope Booth Rockwell Chair in biomedical research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass.

Internationally recognized in the field of gene therapy, Dr. Gao played a key role in the discovery and characterization of a new family of adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes, which was instrumental in reviving the gene therapy field, significantly impacting many currently untreatable human diseases.

“Dr. Gao is a distinguished and accomplished academic and genetic medicine leader who has made fundamental discoveries in gene therapy that have pushed the field forward. He brings an unparalleled combination of pioneering scientific research and pre-clinical and clinical gene therapy product development expertise, along with advanced viral vector manufacturing experience,” said Serene Forte, Ph.D., MPH, senior vice president, head of genetic medicine at Relief Therapeutics. “It will be a privilege to work with Dr. Gao and benefit from his vast knowledge and advice in this space.”

In his advisory role, Dr. Gao will serve as an integral resource, providing scientific review and high-level technical and strategic guidance related to gene therapy targets, research and pre-clinical development and strategic research alliances as the Company works to expand its portfolio.

“The Relief Therapeutics team has built a strong foundation with their current portfolio and cost-effective capital approach to drug development,” said Dr. Gao. “I look forward to working with Dr. Forte and the highly capable leadership team to help build and proficiently execute the Relief Therapeutics genetic medicine program.”

Relief Therapeutics launched its genetic medicines initiative with the objective of developing life-altering, potentially curative therapies for patients suffering from devastating rare diseases that currently lack treatment options. The company is leveraging its strength and experience to identify monogenic disorders in therapeutic areas that align with its areas of focus, such as rare metabolic diseases. The SAB will support the Company’s genetic medicines initiative and additional appointments are forthcoming. To learn more about Relief Therapeutics’ approach to genetic medicine, please visit: https://www.relieftherapeutics.com/genetic-medicine.

“Dr. Gao’s extensive experience in the advancement of novel approaches to treat inherited rare diseases will be instrumental in helping us shape the direction of our genetic medicine portfolio,” said Jack Weinstein, chief executive officer at Relief Therapeutics. “We are honored to have Dr. Gao lead our new SAB and welcome him to Relief Therapeutics.”

ABOUT GUANGPING GAO, PH.D.

Guangping Gao, Ph.D. is co-director of the Li Weibo Institute for Rare Diseases Research, director of the Horae Gene Therapy Center and Viral Vector Core, professor of microbiology and physiological systems, and Penelope Booth Rockwell Chair in biomedical research at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass. Dr. Gao is an elected fellow, both at the U.S. National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and American Academy of Microbiology.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Gao has primarily focused on molecular genetics and viral vector gene therapy of rare genetic diseases, encompassing disease gene cloning, causative mutation identification, pathomechanism investigation, animal modeling, novel viral vector discovery and engineering for in vivo gene delivery, vector biology, pre-clinical and clinical gene therapy product development, viral vector manufacturing for pre-clinical and clinical gene therapy applications as well as technology platform development as novel approaches for human gene therapy.

Dr. Gao has published nearly 350 research papers, six book chapters and five edited books. He holds 233 patents with 480 more patent applications pending. Dr. Gao serves as the executive editor-in-chief of Human Gene Therapy, senior editor of the Gene and Cell Therapy book series, associate editor of Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy and serves on the editorial boards of several other gene therapy and virology journals. Nature Biotechnology has ranked Dr. Gao as one of the top 20 translational researchers in the world for several years in a row. From 2017 to 2020, he served as vice president, president-elect and president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.

Dr. Gao is a co-founder of Voyager Therapeutics, Adrenas Therapeutics and Aspa Therapeutics, which are focused on developing recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene therapeutics for treating a variety of devastating rare diseases.

Dr. Gao earned a bachelor of medicine degree from West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. He earned both a master of science degree and doctor of philosophy degree in biological sciences from Florida International University in Miami. Dr. Gao completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

ABOUT RELIEF THERAPEUTICS

Relief Therapeutics is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing treatment paradigms and delivering improvements in efficacy, safety and convenience to benefit the lives of patients living with rare diseases. Since founding in 2013, Relief Therapeutics continues to build a diversified pipeline of risk-mitigated assets to address metabolic, dermatology/connective tissue disorders as well as pulmonary and genetic diseases. Our portfolio also includes a balanced mix of marketed, revenue-generating products and the proprietary, globally patented Physiomimic™ and Tehclo^® platform technologies which were obtained through the acquisition of APR Applied Pharma Research S.A. in June 2021. Our mission is being advanced by an international team of well-established, experienced biopharma industry leaders with extensive research, development and rare disease expertise. Relief Therapeutics’ headquarters are located in Geneva, with additional offices in Balerna, Switzerland, Rome, Italy and Offenbach am Main, Germany. The Company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol RLF and quoted in the U.S. on OTCQB under the symbols RLFTF and RLFTY. For more information, please visit www.relieftherapeutics.com or follow Relief Therapeutics on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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