Ascend Advanced Therapies Appoints John Chiminski as Chair and Karen Flynn as Independent Director

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Mar 05, 2025, 09:30 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend Advanced Therapies (Ascend), a gene to GMP advanced therapy development partner, today announced the appointment of John Chiminski and Karen Flynn as non-executive members of its Board of Directors. John will serve as Chair of the Board and EW Healthcare Partners has designated Karen to serve on the Company's board as one of its representatives. Their leadership and deep industry expertise will be pivotal as Ascend builds its capabilities and positions itself for growth.

John Chiminski brings more than three decades of leadership in healthcare and pharma services. He served as CEO of Catalent from 2009 to 2015, then as Chair and CEO from 2016 through 2022, and as Executive Chair until June 2023. Under his leadership, Catalent grew into a global Tier 1 CDMO, expanded its capabilities, and significantly increased its impact on the pharma and biotech development and manufacturing ecosystem. He currently serves as a board member for QuidelOrtho (QDEL) and is a Senior Advisor for Abingworth.

"Ascend is at a pivotal moment in its growth, and I am excited to support the team as we build a world-class gene therapy CDMO," said Chiminski. "With the right strategy, investment, and operational excellence, Ascend is well-positioned to be a leading partner in advanced therapies."

Karen Flynn brings more than three decades of commercial and operations experience to the board of Ascend. Most recently, she served as Interim President of BioModalities at Catalent. Preceding this role, Karen held positions as Chief Commercial Officer and President of Biologics at Catalent. Prior to her tenure at Catalent, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for West Pharmaceutical Services, also assuming the role of President of its Pharmaceutical Packaging Systems business. She currently serves on the boards of Quanterix Corporation (QTRX), Sotera Health Company (SHC), Stevanato Group, and Germfree Laboratories, a portfolio company of EW Healthcare Partners.

"With the addition of ABL, Inc. in late 2024 and investment by EW Healthcare Partners, the Ascend network can support gene therapy, oncolytic, vaccine, immunotherapy, and government customers at all stages of development through to fill/finish," said Flynn. "Process development, optimization, and forthcoming GMP QC capabilities in Munich, Germany are complemented by the GMP facilities in Alachua, Florida, and the company's headquarters in Rockville, MD. This is a world-class offering built to support customers long term."

"We are excited to welcome John and Karen to the board. John and Karen bring tremendous leadership, strategic expertise, and industry knowledge that will help shape the future here," said Mike Stella, CEO of Ascend. "Their counsel and extensive experience will be instrumental as we continue to manufacture advanced therapies and aggressively scale up the capabilities of the Company."

Ascend specializes in high-quality, cost-effective gene therapy development and manufacturing. Following the partnership with EW healthcare Partners that contributed its portfolio company, ABL, Inc. in late 2024, Ascend offers expanded commercial manufacturing, process development, and analytical capabilities across multiple facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

To join us on the Ascend journey, please visit: www.ascend-adv.com or follow us on LinkedIn. To schedule some time to chat, email us at [email protected].

Ascend Advanced Therapies (Ascend) is a gene to GMP contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in high-quality, cost-effective advanced therapy development and manufacturing. The Company offers expanded commercial facilities and a versatile platform for gene therapies, oncolytics, vaccines and immunotherapies. A collaborative CMC approach backed by therapeutic development roots helps the team guide clients from clinic to commercialization while balancing yield, quality, and cost. Investors include EW Healthcare Partners, Monograph, Abingworth, Petrichor, DCVC Bio, 4BIO Capital, Cathay Health, Ajinomoto, Deerfield, and Digitalis Ventures. Learn more at www.ascend-adv.com.