Abstract:

Gaining Momentum in Gene Therapy for Rare Diseases and Ocular Diseases

Biography:

Amber Salzman, Ph.D. was appointed president and chief executive officer of Adverum in October 2016 after joining the company earlier in the year as president and chief operating officer after the merger of Annapurna Therapeutics with Avalanche Biotechnologies. Dr. Salzman was the president and chief executive officer of Annapurna Therapeutics between 2012 and 2016. Dr. Salzman has served in leadership roles at large pharmaceutical companies, small pharmaceutical companies, and in the rare disease community, including her role as chief executive officer of Cardiokine Inc. prior to its acquisition by Cornerstone Therapeutics, Inc. in 2011. Dr. Salzman had a 25-year career at GlaxoSmtihKline plc, where she served as a member of the R&D executive team, leading drug development projects and clinical trials in more than 30,000 patients worldwide. Since 2001, Dr. Salzman has served as president of the Stop ALD Foundation, a patient-advocacy group seeking improvements in treatments for patients with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), and played a key role in developing a lentiviral gene therapy treatment for this disease. Dr. Salzman received a B.A. in Computer Science from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College.