Serving our patients and our people.

We have curated a group of proven leaders with diverse experiences and deep expertise in their respective functions. We are united by a belief in the curative potential of hematopoietic stem cell, or HSC, gene therapy and by our steadfast commitment to making a difference in the lives of individuals and families affected by genetic and other severe diseases.

Leadership
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Bobby Gaspar, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
To me, leading Orchard is an opportunity to change medicine and change the lives of individuals with severe genetic diseases and their families. Through our hematopoietic stem cell platform, cutting-edge science and innovation, and well-executed clinical studies, we can deliver potentially curative therapies for patients. However, the success of our efforts also requires enabling meaningful access to therapy and building the necessary infrastructure across core pillars – regulatory science, manufacturing, diagnostic and commercial capabilities, and education and advocacy – to ultimately deliver on our mission to potentially transform lives.

Bobby is a world-renowned scientist and physician and accomplished strategic and organizational leader with more than 25 years of experience in medicine and biotechnology. He is co-founder and chief executive officer of Orchard Therapeutics, a global gene therapy leader recently acquired by Kyowa Kirin with the goal of accelerating the delivery of new gene therapies to patients around the globe. Bobby has been a pioneer in gene therapy and the evolution of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy technology—including some of the first studies in patients with severe primary immune deficiencies—bringing it from some of the first studies in patients into late-stage clinical trials. His unparalleled expertise and deep relationships with key physicians and treatment centers around the world are integral to Orchard’s efforts to identify patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and other severe genetic conditions through targeted disease education, early diagnosis and comprehensive newborn screening.

Bobby is an honorary professor of pediatrics and immunology at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and has led multiple clinical trials that have shown that gene therapy can successfully correct the genetic defect in immune deficiencies. He studied medicine and surgery at Kings College in London before completing his Ph.D. at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

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Frank Thomas
President & Chief Operating Officer
As a leader in gene therapy, I believe we should be providing innovative solutions across the continuum of a fully integrated company, all while turning groundbreaking innovation into transformative therapies for patients, supporting revolutionary ways to improve access to treatment, and driving long-term growth and value.

Frank brings more than 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry as an accomplished financial and business executive, with a proven track record of success in leading operations and strategy, corporate finance and commercialization at private and publicly traded biotechnology companies. Frank joined Orchard in 2018 as chief financial officer and chief business officer. Since that time, his role has expanded to president and chief operating officer of Orchard. He also continues to serve as the principal financial officer. In his capacities, Frank creates and drives strategies for overall value-creation and long-term growth of the company. He currently oversees key functional areas for the business, including but not limited to, finance, business development, commercial operations, corporate affairs and quality.

Frank previously served as president and chief operating officer of AMAG Pharmaceuticals (acquired in November 2020 by Covis Group), where he helped develop the business from a single product company in 2011 to one with a portfolio of commercial and development-stage products that generated more than $600 million in sales in 2017. During that time, Frank raised more than $1.8 billion in new capital to support AMAG’s growth strategy. Before joining AMAG, he served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Molecular Biometrics, Inc. Earlier in his career, Frank also served as chief executive officer for Critical Therapeutics and chief financial officer for Esperion Therapeutics. Each company completed its initial public offering in the U.S. during his tenure. Frank currently serves on the board of directors of Larimar Therapeutics and Spero Therapeutics.

Frank received his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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John Cerio
Chief Human Resource Officer
We are building a highly collaborative culture with a deep understanding and appreciation of our diverse talents and collective strengths, and an abiding commitment to our mission to potentially transform the lives of families affected by rare disease.

John brings over 25 years of human resource (HR) leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry building high growth, high performance, mission-driven and entrepreneurial companies. Most recently, John served as vice president of human resources and administration for Agenus, where he led the HR function through periods of rapid growth, transformation and global expansion. John played a key role in leading the acquisition and integration of 4-antibody AG and the build-out of the company’s R&D and technical operations capabilities responsible for generating and advancing an immuno-oncology portfolio of over a dozen clinical candidates. Prior to Agenus, John was vice president of global HR for PerkinElmer Life Sciences, during which time the company more than doubled in size and annual sales and significantly expanded its commercial business and operations in the U.S., Europe and APAC regions. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly 10 years with Bristol-Myers Squibb in a series of progressively responsible HR leadership roles including director of HR for corporate staff, director of organizational development for U.S. medicines and head of HR for the oncology and immunology division.

John earned his B.S. in industrial and labor relations from Cornell and his M.A. in organizational psychology from Columbia with a concentration in organizational development. He also completed the global leadership development program at the London Business School.

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Nicoletta Loggia, Ph.D.
Chief Technical Officer

Nicoletta has extensive experience leading all aspects of technical operations, including process and analytical development, manufacturing, supply chain, engineering and CMC lifecycle management. She joined Orchard Therapeutics from Novartis, where she held positions of increasing responsibility since 2004, most recently serving as global head of cell and gene therapies. In this role, Nicoletta led multidisciplinary international teams responsible for the end-to-end technical development, manufacturing and project management of several gene and cell therapies modalities, including lentiviral, adeno-associated virus (AAV), stem and CAR-T cell processes, from concept to commercialization. She also oversaw the integration of the CAR-T teams and AveXis’ AAV technical capabilities into Novartis’ technical R&D. Previously, Nicoletta was global head of technical development novel biologic entities and cell and gene therapies where she was responsible for the early phase development of biologics and gene therapies. Her broad industry experience encompasses global leadership in the development and manufacturing of sterile drug products and devices and approvals of several commercial assets.

A medicinal chemist by training, Nicoletta began her career in the biopharmaceutical industry as a formulation scientist at Pfizer. She earned her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical technologies from the University of Pavia in Italy. She is a registered pharmacist and member of the UK Royal and Italian Pharmaceutical societies.

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Fulvio Mavilio, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer

Fulvio leads the company’s discovery and translational research activities. In this capacity he will be responsible for expanding the company’s pipeline into larger indications.

He joined Orchard Therapeutics from Smart Immune where he served as chief scientific officer. Previously, Fulvio was senior vice president of translational science at Audentes Therapeutics in San Francisco, where he was responsible for advancing the company’s pipeline from discovery to clinical development overseeing molecular biology, in vivo pharmacology, bioinformatics, and bioanalytics. Prior to joining Audentes, Fulvio was chief scientific officer of Genethon in Évry, France from 2012 to 2017 where he led the development of a robust pipeline of gene therapy programs for blood, liver, and neuromuscular diseases. Earlier in his career, he held various positions at the Center for Regenerative Medicine of the University of Modena, Molmed SpA, Genera SpA, and the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute of Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy.

Fulvio is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Kriya Therapeutics. He is also a member of the European Molecular Biology Association, past member of the Board of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and a member of the editorial board of many international journals in the fields of genetics, molecular biology and gene therapy. Fulvio earned a Ph.D. in medical genetics at the University of Rome School of Medicine and has published more than 200 articles in major international journals. He also serves as Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Modena, Italy.

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Leslie Meltzer, Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer

Leslie Meltzer is a strategic biopharma executive with unique global experience profile that spans a broad range of functions, therapeutic areas and treatment modalities.  As someone who articulates a compelling company vision, effectively prioritizes high impact initiatives, and enjoys rolling up her sleeves to overcome challenges hands-on, Leslie’s greatest strength lies in her ability to effectively bridge strategy and tactics in small organizations looking to move as quickly and efficiently as possible toward clinical, regulatory and financial success.  She finds it especially rewarding to build and lead motivated teams with a clear sense of mission and the highest standards of operational excellence, to ensure timely delivery of innovative therapies to patients with significant medical needs.

In her role as chief medical officer at Orchard Therapeutics managing clinical development, regulatory, medical affairs, diagnostics, and patient advocacy, Leslie oversees the regulatory strategy and supports the commercialization of OTL-200 for the treatment of early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), leads the expansion of newborn screening for MLD, and drives early- and late-stage clinical development of the company’s next-in-line gene therapies for the treatment of Hurler and Sanfilippo syndromes.  She joined Orchard Therapeutics in June 2018, bringing extensive experience leading medical affairs for several biopharmaceutical companies including Keryx, Biogen, and Actelion, with a focus on launching new therapies in rare diseases, neurology, nephrology, and cardiology. Leslie earned her B.S. from Brandeis University and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University School of Medicine.

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