(PRESS RELEASE)LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS & CAMBRIDGE, MA — ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (Nasdaq: PRQR) (ProQR), a company dedicated to changing lives through the creation of transformative RNA therapies for genetic eye diseases, announced the appointment of Theresa Heggie as Chief Commercial Officer reporting to Daniel de Boer, Founder and CEO. In this newly created leadership position, Ms. Heggie will be responsible for overseeing the Company’s commercial strategy and global commercial operations. She joins as the Company prepares for the top-line results from its Phase 2/3 pivotal Illuminate trial of sepofarsen for CEP290-mediated LCA10 in the first half of 2022.
“As we prepare for results from our Phase 2/3 trial of sepofarsen, we are delighted to have Theresa join ProQR as the head of our commercial organization,” said Daniel A. de Boer, Founder and CEO. “Theresa brings a wealth of commercial and leadership skills to ProQR, having built commercial organizations and successfully launched orphan products with Alnylam and Shire. Theresa has served on our Supervisory Board for the last few years and is uniquely qualified to help us as we work to advance our pipeline of therapies for patients with genetic eye disease.”
“I am delighted to be joining ProQR at such an exciting time for the Company,” said Ms. Heggie. “Having served on the Supervisory Board since 2019, I have seen first-hand the commitment ProQR has to provide safe and effective treatments to patients with genetic eye diseases. I look forward to partnering with Daniel and the ProQR team to prepare for commercialization and to working with the team, employees, physicians, and patient organizations to bring these therapies to patients.”
With significant experience in the global commercialization of rare diseases, as well as in RNA therapeutics, Ms. Heggie most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Freeline Therapeutics. She previously served in senior commercial and operating roles at both Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as Senior Vice President, Head of CEMEA, and at Shire where she built the EMEA rare disease business and subsequently led the Global Commercial Operations for rare diseases. Following Shire’s acquisition of Jerini, she served as its Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Heggie currently serves on the board of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. She received a BSc from Cornell University.
In connection with her appointment as Chief Commercial Officer, Ms. Heggie has stepped down from the Supervisory Board of ProQR.