• Gene therapy industry veteran Leone Patterson joins Tenaya as Chief Financial and Business Officer

• Cardiologist Matthew Pollman appointed as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

Tenaya Therapeutics, a biotechnology company with a mission to discover, develop and deliver curative therapies that address the underlying causes of heart disease, today announced the hires of Leone Patterson, MBA, as Chief Financial and Business Officer and Matthew Pollman, MD, MS, as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development. Ms. Patterson will lead corporate finance, investor relations, business development and corporate communications, as well as various operational functions, while Dr. Pollman will lead clinical development as well as efforts to develop novel delivery methods for cardiac gene therapy.

“We are thrilled to welcome Leone and Matt to Tenaya. Both are proven industry leaders with highly relevant prior experiences building and leading teams at clinical stage gene therapy companies,” said Faraz Ali, CEO of Tenaya. “Leone’s strategic, operational and financial expertise and Matt’s experience with cardiovascular drug and device development will be critical assets as we prepare for the next stage of our growth and maturity.”

Ms. Patterson joins Tenaya from Adverum Biotechnologies, an ocular and rare disease gene therapy company, where she served in several different roles over the course of her five-year tenure including CEO and director, most recently holding the positions of President and Chief Financial Officer in which she was responsible for several core business functions including operations, finance, investor relations and corporate communications. She previously also held Chief Financial Officer roles at Diadexus and Transcept and senior finance roles at Exelixis, Novartis and Chiron. Ms. Patterson earned a B.S. in business administration and accounting from Chapman University and an executive M.B.A. from St. Mary’s College. Ms. Patterson is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive status). Ms. Patterson currently serves on the board of directors of Nkarta and Eliem Therapeutics.

Dr. Pollman comes to Tenaya with extensive experience in cardiovascular research and development. He most recently served as Executive Vice President at NaviGate Cardiac Structures, a clinical stage company focused on developing transcatheter solutions to treat valvular disease. Prior to that, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Juventas Therapeutics, a clinical stage non-viral gene therapy company focused on cardiovascular conditions. He has authored 17 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been the recipient of two investigator-initiated NIH NHLBI R01 grants in basic cardiovascular research. Dr. Pollman completed his medical training at the University of California San Francisco, Stanford University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Pollman currently serves on the board of directors of Navigate Cardiac Structures and Perfusion Solutions.

About Tenaya Therapeutics

Tenaya Therapeutics is a biotechnology company committed to a bold mission: to discover, develop and deliver curative therapies that address the underlying drivers of heart disease. Tenaya is developing therapies for rare genetic disorders as well as for more prevalent heart conditions through three distinct but interrelated product platforms: Gene Therapy, Cellular Regeneration and Precision Medicine. Founded by leading cardiovascular scientists from Gladstone Institutes and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Tenaya is backed by an established syndicate of investors. For more information, please visit www.TenayaTherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210630005965/en/