ESCAPE Bio, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel, precisely-targeted therapeutics for genetically-defined neurodegenerative diseases, today announced Mark Kaufmann has joined as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer.

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ESCAPE Bio's newly appointed CFO & CBO, Mark Kaufmann (Photo: Business Wire)

“Mark has a long track record of exceptional success in fundraising, corporate development and strategic leadership at private and public companies and I have tremendous confidence in his ability to lead our corporate functions,” commented Julie Anne Smith, Chief Executive Officer of ESCAPE Bio.

Mark has been a biotech executive with leadership experience as a CEO, CBO, COO and CFO at prior companies. Most recently he was the Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development at Ardelyx, Inc (ARDX), where he led the IPO and subsequently raised over $500 million in equity financings and completed $1.0 billion of licensing deals during his tenure. Previously he spent over a decade forming and leading multiple biotech companies in Montreal. He started his career at MedImmune, Inc. Mark received his BA in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard prior to completing his MBA at University of Michigan.

“I am delighted to be joining ESCAPE Bio at this very exciting time,” said Mr. Kaufmann. “The field of neurodegeneration has always been such a difficult and intractable problem, but companies like ESCAPE Bio are now advancing therapies that attack the issue in an intuitive and exquisitely targeted way. I am honored to join ESCAPE Bio to help them build upon this exciting trend in neurology and to help Julie and the team drive towards significant value creation.”

(All bios available at https://www.escapebio.com/company/#executive-management)

About ESCAPE Bio

ESCAPE Bio is a clinical-stage, privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing novel, precisely-targeted therapeutics for genetically-defined neurodegenerative diseases. ESB1609 is in a Phase 1, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic and biomarker study of escalating multiple doses in healthy volunteers. ESCAPE’s pipeline includes small molecules targeting known genetic drivers of CNS disorders, including ESB1609, an S1P5 agonist for the treatment of CNS lysosomal storage disorders and GBA Parkinson’s; a G2019S-selective kinase inhibitor for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients with that mutation; and an Alzheimer's disease program targeting ApoE4. For additional information, please visit www.escapebio.com.

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