AskBio Announces Gustavo Pesquin as New CEO

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced that Gustavo Pesquin will become the company's next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of March 11, 2023. Pesquin joins AskBio from Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he served as Chief Commercial Officer.

Sheila Mikhail, Co-Founder and the company's first CEO, will transition to a part-time role as Adviser/Co-Founder, also effective March 11, 2023. Mikhail will remain a member of AskBio's Board.

Under Mikhail's leadership as CEO since 2017, AskBio has grown to over 800 employees operating in five countries and has advanced six therapeutics through IND, including potential treatments for congestive heart failure, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophy, Pompe disease and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I/R9. Under her leadership, AskBio built two contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) businesses, Viralgen Vector Core SL and TAAV Biomanufacturing Solutions SL. In her new role, Mikhail will continue to support the strategic direction and growth of AskBio. She will also continue to support Columbus Children's Foundation (CCF) in its development of gene therapies for ultra-rare diseases.  

"I co-founded AskBio, along with Drs. Richard Jude Samulski and Xiao Xiao, to develop AAV gene therapies for patients suffering from devastating diseases with no treatment options," said Mikhail. "I'm tremendously proud of the contributions made by our team. They have made critical scientific discoveries and pioneered transformative clinical programs. My focus over the last several years has been to assemble the world's leading experts in gene therapy to solve technological problems and create new clinical programs. Today we are in the clinic with treatments for multiple diseases, and through our subsidiaries we are the leading manufacturer of synthetic DNA and AAV vectors at commercial scale. I look forward to working with Gustavo as AskBio continues to pursue its strategic vision." 

"Sheila's extraordinary leadership moved AskBio from an idea to a strongly positioned global biotech that is advancing multiple products into clinical studies, with direct paths to pivotal trials, marketing approval and manufacturing," stated Stefan Oelrich, Member of the Board of Management, Bayer, and President of Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division. "We are grateful for her contributions and pleased she will continue to work closely with us as an Adviser and Board member. Under Gustavo's leadership as the new CEO, I am confident that AskBio will continue to advance its world-class therapeutics and manufacturing operations, further its work as a cornerstone of the Bayer CGT Platform and set itself apart from its peers. We are excited about the future and look forward to working with Gustavo."

In addition to his experience as Chief Commercial Officer at Amneal, Pesquin brings to AskBio his more than 10 years of experience at Sanofi, a leading global pharmaceutical company, where he served in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including North America Head for General Medicines as well as Global Head of the Diabetes and Cardiovascular Franchise. Prior to Sanofi, he held Regional Head, General Manager, Sales Head and Strategy Head roles at Abbott and Pfizer; Brand Management roles at Procter & Gamble; and consultant roles with Boston Consulting Group. Pesquin earned an MBA with a concentration in Management and Strategy, Finance and Accounting from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in Public and Business Administration from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Argentina.

"I couldn't be more excited to join a team that has been at the forefront of a scientific revolution. It's humbling to continue Sheila's legacy and to work with colleagues of such an incredibly high scientific caliber," added Pesquin. "I think we have the opportunity to help patients in a way that was unthinkable not long ago. It's very energizing to join an organization with such purpose."

About AskBio
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a wholly owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, is a fully integrated gene therapy company dedicated to developing life-saving medicines and changing lives. The company maintains a portfolio of clinical programs across a range of neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic disease indications with a clinical-stage pipeline that includes therapeutics for Pompe disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple system atrophy and congestive heart failure. AskBio's gene therapy platform includes Pro10™, an industry-leading proprietary cell line manufacturing process, and an extensive capsid and promoter library. With global headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and European headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company has generated hundreds of proprietary capsids and promoters, several of which have entered clinical testing. An early innovator in the gene therapy field, with over 800 employees in five countries, the company holds more than 750 patents in areas such as AAV production and chimeric and self-complementary capsids. Learn more at www.askbio.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

About Bayer 
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

AskBio Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," "intends," "potential," "possible" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include without limitation statements regarding AskBio's pipeline of development candidates, manufacturing technology and process. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond AskBio's control. Known risks include, among others: AskBio may not be able to execute on its business plans and goals, including meeting its expected or planned regulatory milestones and timelines, its reliance on third-parties, clinical development plans, manufacturing processes and plans, and bringing its product candidates to market, due to a variety of reasons, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, possible limitations of company financial and other resources, manufacturing limitations that may not be anticipated or resolved in a timely manner, potential disagreements or other issues with our third-party collaborators and partners, and regulatory, court or agency feedback or decisions, such as feedback and decisions from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Any of the foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect AskBio's business and results of operations. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. AskBio does not undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements based on events or circumstances after the date hereof. 

SOURCE AskBio