Atsena Therapeutics Appoints Matt Pauls to Board of Directors

Matt Pauls brings more than 25 years of biopharma leadership and rare disease clinical development and commercial expertise as Atsena advances its ocular gene therapy pipeline toward commercialization

DURHAM, N.C., Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atsena Therapeutics, a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on reversing or preventing blindness from inherited retinal disease, announced the appointment of Matt Pauls, a rare disease commercial leader, to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Pauls brings more than 25 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry leadership, with deep expertise in rare disease clinical development and building and scaling commercial organizations. His appointment comes as Atsena advances two late-stage clinical programs, ATSN-201 for X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) and ATSN-101 for GUCY2D-associated Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA1), through pivotal trials while preparing for multiple commercial launches of its inherited retinal disease gene therapies.

"Matt brings an exceptional combination of skills and experience. He's led a company through IPO, built commercial organizations at some of the industry's most respected rare disease companies, and guided boards through transformative decisions, including a recent acquisition," said Patrick Ritschel, Chief Executive Officer of Atsena. "His appointment comes at a pivotal time. Our Phase 1/2 dataset in XLRS continues to mature, with durability sustained in our earliest treated patient past three years of follow-up. Our Phase 3 trial is enrolling rapidly, putting Atsena on a clear path toward a BLA filing. As we prepare for potential commercial launches, we're deliberately building expertise at the board and organizational level to ensure that transition is successful."

"Atsena has assembled one of the most compelling pipelines in ocular gene therapy, anchored by a differentiated technology platform and a management team with deep scientific and clinical expertise," said Mr. Pauls. "Having spent my career leading rare disease companies through IPOs, clinical development, strategic transactions, and commercial launches, I understand both the opportunity and the complexity of bringing a first-in-class therapy to patients. I look forward to working with the Board and management team as Atsena advances toward that milestone."

About Matt Pauls

Mr. Pauls currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Savara, Inc., a publicly traded, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare respiratory diseases. He also serves on the boards of directors of two additional publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies: Pelthos Therapeutics, a commercial-stage company focused on dermatologic infectious diseases, and Palvella Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on rare skin and vascular malformations. From 2020 to 2026, he served on the board of directors of Amplo Biotechnology, a private gene therapy company focused on rare neuromuscular disorders, and from 2023 to 2026 he served on the board of directors of Soleno Therapeutics, a publicly traded rare disease biopharmaceutical company, where he was appointed Lead Independent Director in August 2024 prior to its acquisition by Neurocrine Biosciences in May 2026.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Pauls served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of Strongbridge Biopharma plc, a publicly traded, rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical company that he took public via an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Prior to Strongbridge, he served as Chief Commercial Officer of Insmed Incorporated, leading the company's global Commercial and Technical Operations organizations. He previously held senior commercial leadership roles at Shire Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Commercial Operations, as well as key leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Pauls has also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Mast Therapeutics and as a member of the Board of Directors of Zyla Life Sciences, both publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies.

Mr. Pauls holds B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Central Michigan University and a J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.

About Atsena Therapeutics 

Atsena is a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing best-in-class treatments for the reversal or prevention of blindness from inherited retinal diseases. The company's lead program is evaluating ATSN-201 in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS), a genetic condition typically diagnosed in childhood that leads to blindness later in life. Atsena is also developing ATSN-101, an investigational gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis type 1 (LCA1), as part of its exclusive strategic collaboration with Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd.; ATSN-101 has completed a Phase 1/2 trial and Atsena expects to initiate a global pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating ATSN-101 in the second half of 2026. Atsena's pipeline of clinical and preclinical assets, including gene therapies in development for Usher syndrome type 1B and Stargardt disease, is powered by a proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology platform, featuring its novel lateral-spreading AAV.SPR capsid, designed to overcome the challenges presented by inherited retinal disease. For more information, please visit https://atsenatx.com/. 

Investor and Media Contact:
Argot Partners
atsena@argotpartners.com

Business Contact:
info@atsenatx.com