Stoke Therapeutics Appoints Jason Hoitt as Chief Commercial Officer
April 17 2024 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
– Mr. Hoitt brings more than two decades of
successful commercial experience with an emphasis on rare diseases
–
Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: STOK), a biotechnology company
dedicated to addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by
upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines, today
announced the appointment of Jason Hoitt as Chief Commercial
Officer. Mr. Hoitt has more than 20 years of experience
successfully planning and executing commercial strategies at
leading biopharma companies. As Chief Commercial Officer and a
member of Stoke’s leadership team, Mr. Hoitt will be responsible
for overseeing the Company’s global commercial strategy for
STK-001. Recently announced data support the potential for STK-001
to be the first disease-modifying medicine for the treatment of
Dravet syndrome.
"Jason brings deep expertise and a proven track record in
successfully driving commercial strategies for novel new medicines
and accelerating growth for companies as they transition to the
commercial stage,” said Edward M. Kaye, M.D., Chief Executive
Officer of Stoke Therapeutics. “Jason’s experience building and
leading teams, particularly in the area of rare disease, comes at
the perfect time for Stoke as we plan for our registrational study
of STK-001 and set our sights on the future where we aim to deliver
the first potential disease-modifying medicine to patients with
Dravet syndrome.”
“The recent data from the studies of STK-001 suggest that Stoke
has the opportunity to change the way Dravet syndrome is treated by
targeting the underlying cause of the disease, not just the
symptoms,” said Mr. Hoitt. “I have been fortunate to have worked on
some incredibly important advances in the treatment of severe
diseases and look forward to bringing that experience and passion
to Stoke. I am excited by the opportunity to build on the strong
foundation of scientific innovation and clinical execution as we
prepare the company to successfully conduct a registrational study
and commercialize STK-001 and other potential new medicines in the
future.”
Prior to joining Stoke, Mr. Hoitt served as Chief Commercial
Officer at Provention Bio and led all commercial efforts including
pre-launch and launch strategy and execution for Tzield®
(teplizumab-mzwv), the first drug approved to address the
underlying autoimmune cause of type 1 diabetes. Prior to Provention
Bio, Mr. Hoitt served as Chief Commercial Officer at Dova
Pharmaceuticals and led all commercial efforts including launch
strategy and execution for DOPTELET® (avatrombopag) for
chronic immune thrombocytopenia. Prior to Dova Pharmaceuticals, Mr.
Hoitt was a member of the commercial leadership team at Insmed
Incorporated, serving as a Vice President and Head of Sales. Mr.
Hoitt also held senior sales, marketing and medical affairs roles
at Sarepta Therapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Gilead
Sciences. Mr. Hoitt has held integral roles in the launch of
several innovative medicines, including Arikayce (Insmed), Exondys
51 (Sarepta), and Incivek (Vertex). Mr. Hoitt holds a B.A. from the
College of the Holy Cross.
Effective on April 15, 2024, Stoke granted Mr. Hoitt a stock
option to purchase an aggregate of 265,000 shares of common stock,
as a material inducement to his employment in accordance with
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
The stock option that was granted has an exercise price of
$12.21 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Stoke’s
common stock on April 15, 2024. The option will vest over a 4-year
period, with 1/4th of the shares underlying the option
vesting on the one-year anniversary of the applicable vesting
commencement date and the remaining shares thereafter vesting
monthly at a rate of 1/48th of the shares underlying the
option over the following 36 months, subject to Mr. Hoitt’s
continued employment with Stoke on such vesting dates. The option
has a term of 10 years and is subject to the terms and conditions
of the 2023 Inducement Plan and the stock option agreement covering
the grant.
About Stoke Therapeutics
Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK), is a biotechnology company
dedicated to addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by
upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines. Using
Stoke’s proprietary TANGO (Targeted Augmentation of Nuclear Gene
Output) approach, Stoke is developing antisense oligonucleotides
(ASOs) to selectively restore protein levels. Stoke’s first
compound, STK-001, is in clinical testing for the treatment of
Dravet syndrome, a severe and progressive genetic epilepsy. Dravet
syndrome is one of many diseases caused by a haploinsufficiency, in
which a loss of ~50% of normal protein levels leads to disease.
Stoke is pursuing the development of STK-002 for the treatment of
autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), the most common inherited
optic nerve disorder. Stoke’s initial focus is haploinsufficiencies
and diseases of the central nervous system and the eye, although
proof of concept has been demonstrated in other organs, tissues,
and systems, supporting its belief in the broad potential for its
proprietary approach. Stoke is headquartered in Bedford,
Massachusetts with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more
information, visit https://www.stoketherapeutics.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not
limited to, the ability of STK-001 to treat the underlying cause of
Dravet syndrome, and the timing and expected progress of clinical
trials, regulatory decisions and successful development of STK-001.
Statements including words such as “will,” “expect,” “plan,” and
“potential” and statements in the future tense are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they prove
incorrect or do not fully materialize, could cause results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks
and uncertainties related to: the Company’s ability to advance,
obtain regulatory approval of, and ultimately commercialize its
product candidates, including STK-001; positive results in a
clinical trial may not be replicated in subsequent trials;
successes in early stage trials may not be predictive of results in
later stage trials; the Company’s ability to fund development
activities and achieve development goals; and other risks and
uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2023, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and the other
documents it files from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no
obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240417733047/en/
Stoke Media & Investor Contacts:
Dawn Kalmar
Chief Communications Officer
dkalmar@stoketherapeutics.com
781-303-8302
Eric Rojas
Vice President, Investor Relations
IR@stoketherapeutics.com
617-312-2754
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