HORAMA Strengthens Its Management Team With the Appointment of Rodolphe Clerval as Chief Business Officer (CBO)

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HORAMA, a clinical stage gene therapy company in ophthalmology, today announced that Rodolphe Clerval has been appointed as Chief Business Officer (CBO). Rodolphe has a strong track record of executing strategic partnerships, business development deals and financing efforts. He will be responsible for business and corporate development, supporting HORAMA in operating a portfolio of gene therapy programs in inherited retinal dystrophies.

«We are delighted to welcome Rodolphe, who brings us solid international experience in business development and corporate development strategy, acquired in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. His precious skills will allow us to prepare the next steps and to optimize the potential of our gene therapy products in ophthalmic diseases, for which there is a strong and unmet medical need », says Christine Placet, CEO, HORAMA.

Rodolphe Clerval (44) has over 18 years’ international experience in the pharma and biotech industry. Prior to joining HORAMA, Mr. Clerval was co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Enterome. During his tenure at Enterome, he has executed over 15 transactions, including major industrial partnerships with Takeda, J&J, BMS, Abbvie and Nestle Health Sciences, totalizing over €100m in upfront and R&D payments and in equity investments. He was also actively involved in fundraising rounds. Rodolphe previously worked with TcLand Expression and Genzyme in business development, and with Natixis as sell-side equity analyst. He started his career at Aventis Animal Nutrition as a scientist.

Rodolphe graduated with a degree in Biochemical Engineering from Polytech Marseille and he is a Certified European Financial Analyst from EFFAS/SFAF.

“HORAMA is a remarkable company, combining top gene therapy research, clinical stage programs with a strong team of industry leaders. I am thrilled to join HORAMA and to support the company in delivering best-in-class therapies in inherited retinal dystrophies”, said Rodolphe Clerval, CBO, Horama.

Gene therapy market (source: FiorMarkets and Grand View Research, Inc)

Gene therapy is being developed with an aim to treat rare conditions with limited or no treatment options.
Genetic disorders occur due to gene mutations, which can result in incorrect protein synthesis. Gene therapy is used to introduce a healthy gene into cells to allow the synthesis of a functional protein. Growing awareness and acceptance of gene therapy for various disease treatments are favouring market growth.
The global gene therapy market is estimated to reach $5.5 billion by 2026, while the global ophthalmology market is projected to grow to $43 billion by 2026 (April 2019 report issued by Grand View Research, Inc.).

About HORAMA

At HORAMA, we believe in gene therapy to treat a broad range of inherited disorders.
Our focus is on Inherited Retinal Dystrophies with our lead clinical program targeting patients with PDE6B gene mutations, a condition which leads to progressive vision loss in children and adults leading to legal blindness.
Our team is pushing the boundaries of gene therapy by advancing next generation delivery platforms that will improve effectiveness and coverage of gene transfer to address multiple diseases. For more information, please go to: www.horama.fr.