Homology Medicines Announces Promotion of Tim Kelly to Chief Operating Officer

- Built Internal GMP Commercial Process and Manufacturing Platform and Scaled HEK293 Suspension System to 2,000L Under His Leadership -

BEDFORD, Mass., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homology Medicines, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIXX), a genetic medicines company, announced today that Tim Kelly has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Previously, Mr. Kelly held the role of Chief Technical Operations Officer and led the construction of the Company’s internal 25,000-square-foot GMP manufacturing facility, which was completed in 12 months from design to operation. As one of the first companies to scale to a 2,000-liter bioreactor with a HEK293 serum-free suspension system, Homology’s commercial scale process and platform gives the Company the ability to produce large scale volumes to support its gene therapy and editing programs, and can be further leveraged to target larger disease areas.

“From the beginning, Tim was a major driver behind the strategic decision to invest in developing our process and internal manufacturing capabilities, including realizing the value of operating under the same roof as our research and process development labs,” stated Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Homology Medicines. “Tim’s more than 20 years of technical knowledge and business operations experience has been key to progressing our dual gene therapy and editing platform, and we look forward to his broader contributions to our organization as we continue to advance our mission to bring genetic medicines to patients.”

Under his leadership, Homology has attracted and grown a highly experienced technical operations team, some of whom worked alongside Mr. Kelly in developing the first commercially approved, single-use bioreactor manufacturing system many years ago while at Shire plc. This experience, coupled with Tim’s strategic vision, enabled the rapid development and optimization of Homology’s “plug and play” platform that currently serves all programs, regardless of the modality or transgene. With 3,500 liters of total capacity, Homology is advancing its Phase 2 pheNIX gene therapy clinical trial, for which it expects to report initial data by the end of this year, and plans to initiate two other clinical programs, including its first gene editing trial.