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  Ms. D’Oyley-Gay brings significant legal experience as well as business development and commercial operations expertise from both biotech and pharmaceutical companies
  
  
  

GAINESVILLE, Fla. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: AGTC), a biotechnology company conducting human clinical trials of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of rare inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), today announced the appointment of Hope D’Oyley-Gay as General Counsel. In this role Ms. D’Oyley-Gay will oversee legal, IP and compliance for the Company.

“We are excited to welcome Hope D’Oyley-Gay to AGTC, and to have the benefit of her tremendous legal expertise. Additionally, with her extensive business development and commercial experience, she will play an important role in our efforts to advance our pipeline of valuable gene therapies towards potential approval and commercialization,” said Sue Washer, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGTC. “Hope is another high-profile executive that has chosen to join our talented leadership team and we are looking forward to the contributions that she will make in our efforts towards bringing transformational genetic therapies for patients with rare and debilitating diseases.”

Ms. D’Oyley-Gay has more than 25 years of legal experience, with the majority of her career spent in the healthcare industry, and deep knowledge of pharmaceutical, gene therapy and life sciences companies. Most recently, Ms. D’Oyley-Gay was General Counsel and Vice President of Administration at Spirovant Sciences where she was a member of the company’s executive leadership team, helping to develop strategy for, and lead operations of, the company.

“I am thrilled to join the team at AGTC, whose decades of experience in gene therapy have established a strong foundation for growth and success,” said Hope D’Oyley-Gay, General Counsel of AGTC. “I’m looking forward to bringing my experience both as in-house counsel and at leading law firms to deliver on the promise of AGTC’s scientific vision and bring gene therapies to patients with rare diseases.”

Before her tenure at Spirovant Sciences, Ms. D’Oyley-Gay previously served as Counsel at Reed Smith, LLC, where she represented biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in a variety of strategic collaborations. Ms. D’Oyley-Gay also served as an Executive-In-Residence at Militia Hill Ventures, where she supported the building and growth of successful life sciences companies. Previously, she was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline, where she supported worldwide business development on numerous strategic collaborations, including licenses, divestments, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions.

Ms. D’Oyley-Gay earned her J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.S. in Economics from the University of Delaware.

About AGTC


AGTC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic therapies for people with rare and debilitating ophthalmic, otologic and central nervous system (CNS) diseases. AGTC is a leader in designing and constructing all critical gene therapy elements and bringing them together to develop customized therapies with the potential to address real patient needs. AGTC’s most advanced clinical programs leverage its best-in-class technology platform to potentially improve vision for patients with an inherited retinal disease. AGTC has active clinical trials in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) and achromatopsia (ACHM CNGB3 and ACHM CNGA3). Its preclinical programs build on the company’s industry leading AAV manufacturing technology and scientific expertise. AGTC is advancing multiple important pipeline candidates to address substantial unmet clinical need in optogenetics, otology and CNS disorders, and has entered into strategic collaborations with companies including Otonomy, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics for neurotology, and Bionic Sight, LLC, an innovator in the emerging field of optogenetics and retinal coding.

Forward-Looking Statements


This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect AGTC’s plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs, including statements about the Company’s development programs and gene therapy platform. Forward-looking statements include information concerning preclinical and clinical product development and regulatory progress, potential growth opportunities, and potential market opportunities. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” promise”, “”should,” “will,” “would” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, due to a number of important factors. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: gene therapy is still novel with only a few approved treatments so far; AGTC cannot predict when or if it will obtain regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate or receive reasonable reimbursement; uncertainty inherent in clinical trials and the regulatory review process, including that interim results are not necessarily indicative of final results; risks and uncertainties associated with drug development and commercialization; the direct and indirect impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations, and financial condition; factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent periodic reports filed with the SEC. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent management’s plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs only as of the date of this release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

PR Contact:

Kerry Sinclair

Spectrum Science Communications


[email protected]

Corporate Contact:


Jon Lieber

Chief Financial Officer

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation

T: (617) 843-5778


[email protected]