89bio Appoints Healthcare Industry Veteran Steven Altschuler, M.D., as Chairman of the Board of Directors

SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 89bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETNB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of liver and cardio-metabolic diseases, today announced the appointment of Steven Altschuler, M.D., as chairman of its board of directors. Dr. Altschuler currently serves as managing director of Healthcare Ventures at Ziff Capital Partners. He brings 20 years of experience growing healthcare organizations in business and leadership capacities.

“We are very pleased to welcome Steven as chairman of 89bio’s board of directors,” said Greg Grunberg, chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee of 89bio’s board of directors. “By any measure, Steven has distinguished himself throughout his career as an innovator and dynamic leader in the provider and biotechnology industries. We are incredibly fortunate to have him join the team and confident he is going to be a significant contributor to 89bio.”

In his role at Ziff Capital Partners, Dr. Altschuler co-leads the firm’s efforts toward investing in, and facilitating the start-up and development of, companies with potentially transformative technologies that emphasize cellular and molecular approaches to human disease. He previously co-founded Spark Therapeutics to develop and commercialize the preclinical and clinical gene therapy programs advanced at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and other institutions. Dr. Altschuler served as Spark Therapeutics’ board chair from its founding through its acquisition in 2019, which included leading the company through a successful transition to a public company and the launch of the first gene therapy for an inherited disease approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

“I joined the board of directors because of my enthusiasm for 89bio’s potentially differentiated fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), BIO89-100, and its commercial potential in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and severe hypertriglyceridemia (SHTG),” said Dr. Altschuler. “I look forward to working closely with the team and the rest of the board to advance our work in liver and cardio-metabolic diseases.”

Trained as a pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Altschuler formerly held CEO positions at CHOP, which is one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals, and the University of Miami Health System. He is a member of the board of directors of WW (formerly Weight Watchers International), Orchard Therapeutics, AsclepiX Therapeutics, ImVaX and Platelet Biogenesis. He is also an independent trustee of the Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization at Mass General Brigham. Dr. Altschuler holds a B.A. in mathematics and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University.