Latus Bio Strengthens Executive Team with Appointments of Ainslie Little as COO and Katie Hewitt as interim CBO

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Latus Bio, Inc. (Latus), a biotechnology company driving advances in AAV gene therapy, announces the appointments of Ainslie Little, PhD, as COO and Katie Hewitt, as interim CBO.

“These appointments reflect our continued commitment to building a world-class organization. Ainslie’s operational leadership and Katie’s business development expertise will be instrumental as we progress our programs and expand the scope of our partnerships.”

- P. Peter Ghoroghchian, MD, PhD, CEO

Ainslie Little, PhD, Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Little has two decades of experience aligning scientific innovation with strategic execution - a skillset that she now brings to Latus as its new COO. She joins Latus from BlueRock Therapeutics, where she played a pivotal role in scaling the company from a preclinical startup through its acquisition by Bayer AG. During her 7-year tenure, Dr. Little helped to establish BlueRock as an independently operated subsidiary with two clinical-stage cell therapy programs. She held appointments of increasing responsibility that culminated as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Operations and as a member of the executive team.

With a unique background spanning corporate strategy, operations, and intellectual property, Dr. Little has a proven track record of building enterprise capabilities, driving platform innovation, and forming strategic partnerships. Earlier in her career, she practiced as a patent agent, supporting cell and gene therapy companies across the U.S. and Canada. As Latus’ COO, Dr. Little will oversee daily operations and lead the planning and implementation of strategic initiatives.

“I’m honored to join Latus at this exciting phase of its growth. Our next-generation AAV technologies and therapeutic candidates have remarkable potential to alter the treatment landscape of genetic diseases. I look forward to helping the team to scale operations and to realizing the full promise of this science.”

– Ainslie Little, PhD, COO

Katie Hewitt, interim Chief Business Officer

Ms. Hewitt is the founder and CEO of BioVenture Advisors, where she provides strategy and business development leadership to select high-potential companies and venture funds. As Latus’s interim CBO, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as a highly seasoned business development executive. Ms. Hewitt recently concluded a 25-year tenure at Eli Lilly that culminated as Global Head of Business Development for Lilly Catalyze. Her career spans critical roles in business development, global strategy, and in pricing, reimbursement and access, which is complemented by extensive board experiences with emerging biotechnology companies. Her unique ability to synthesize multi-faceted challenges into actionable strategies that yield commercial success has been demonstrated across multiple roles, particularly with companies that have emerging therapeutic modalities and technology platforms.

“Latus is pioneering extraordinary science. My aim is to enable the platform to realize its transformative potential with the right combination of partners, capital, and collaborations. With numerous opportunities on the horizon, I'm committed to channeling our momentum toward meaningful impact.”

– Katie Hewitt, interim CBO

About Latus Bio

Latus is a biotechnology company dedicated to addressing devastating CNS and systemic diseases via gene therapy. The Company is advancing an innovative therapeutics pipeline based on novel AAV capsid variants that aim to improve potency, specificity and dosing requirements. Latus is powered by a diverse team of visionary scientists, experienced clinicians, and leading industry executives. The Company has offices in Philadelphia, PA and in the Seaport in Boston, MA.

For more information, visit www.latusbio.com and follow on LinkedIn.