GAINESVILLE, Fla., Oct. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:AGTC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of rare eye diseases, today announced the appointment of three new employees. Among these hires, Jonathan M. Sparks, Ph.D. will join AGTC as Vice President of Legal Affairs. The Company also announced the appointments of Ellery Mangas as Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs and Eric Olson as Senior Director, Corporate Development.
“We are pleased to welcome Jonathan, Ellery and Eric who bring rich and diverse experience to AGTC during a critical growth period,” said Sue Washer, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGTC. “Since the beginning of 2014, we’ve made significant investments to our team with a total of 30 new hires, including five senior management positions. These additions further strengthen our talented team and will help support AGTC’s development following our recent advance into clinical trials for our lead gene therapy candidate for XLRS.”
Dr. Sparks has served as intellectual property counsel to AGTC for over 8 years. Jonathan joins the company from McCarter & English, LLP where he has been a partner since 2010. Dr. Sparks earned a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Texas A&M University. He will be based in the company’s new Cambridge location.
Eric Olson comes to AGTC from Genzyme, a Sanofi Company, where since joining in 2008, he held multiple roles of increasing responsibility in business development, venture capital investment, and most recently global commercial and corporate strategy. Eric holds an MBA from theUniversity of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and an M.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from New York University. In his new role with AGTC, Mr. Olson will also be based in the company’s Cambridge location where he will support the company’s business development activities and oversee the company’s strategic collaboration with Biogen.
Ellery Mangas was most recently employed by UCB, Inc. and held multiple roles of increasing responsibility including Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs & Regional Regulatory Lead for New Medicines and North America. Ellery was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Regulatory Affairs from the University of Georgia and holds a B.S. in Microbiology & Cell Science with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Florida. Mr. Mangas will be based at AGTC’s headquarters in Gainesville.
