BioGene Therapeutics Appoints Ty Howton, Veteran Biopharma Executive, to Board of Directors
Key Insights
BioGene Therapeutics has appointed Ty Howton, a nearly 30-year biopharmaceutical industry veteran, to its Board of Directors effective immediately.
Howton brings extensive experience scaling gene therapy and precision medicine companies from clinical to commercial stages, including leadership roles at Solid Biosciences, Sarepta Therapeutics, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
The appointment includes 100,000 stock options exercisable at $5.00 per share through June 2031 and 500,000 restricted share units, both vesting in 25% annual increments over four years.
BioGene Therapeutics Inc. (search), a Texas-based life sciences company focused on metabolic health and gene-based treatments, has appointed Ty Howton to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The announcement, made jointly by BioGene and its parent company PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (search), marks a strategic move to strengthen the company's governance as it advances its pipeline of gene therapies targeting diabetes (search) and obesity (search).
Howton brings nearly 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience to the role, including 15 years as an executive team member and lead board advisor for public and private growth companies. His career has centered on helping clinical-stage gene therapy and precision medicine companies successfully transition to commercial-stage organizations.
"I am honored to join the Board of Directors of BioGene Therapeutics," said Howton. "I look forward to contributing my operational, legal, financing, and governance expertise to help the company advance its mission of developing transformative therapies for patients."
A Track Record in Gene Therapy Commercialization
Howton currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Solid Biosciences, a public clinical-stage company focused on neuromuscular, cardiovascular, and AAV platform gene therapies. In this role, he built and leads operations for an organization that has advanced multiple candidates into active clinical trials and developed a full preclinical pipeline.
Prior to Solid Biosciences, Howton served as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of AavantiBio (search), a private gene therapy company backed by Bain Capital, Perceptive Lifesciences, and RA Capital, which merged with Solid Biosciences in 2022. His earlier career includes serving as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Sarepta Therapeutics, where he was part of the executive team that transformed the company from clinical stage to a multi-drug commercial organization. He also held the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he was involved in the launches of Incivek and Kalydeco, and served as Chief Healthcare Compliance Officer at Genentech.
Howton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Leadership Perspective
"We are thrilled to welcome Ty Howton to the BioGene Therapeutics Board of Directors," said Stephen Van Deventer, Chairman and CEO of BioGene Therapeutics. "Ty brings exceptional operational leadership, deep legal and governance expertise, and a proven track record of scaling gene therapy companies from clinical to commercial stages. His extensive experience in financing, corporate development, and board-level oversight will be invaluable as we advance our pipeline and continue building BioGene into a leading gene therapy company."
Equity Compensation Details
In connection with the appointment, the Company granted Howton 100,000 stock options, each exercisable into one common share at a price of $5.00 per share until June 5, 2031. Additionally, Howton received 500,000 restricted share units. Both the options and restricted share units vest in 25% annual increments on June 5 of 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
BioGene's Therapeutic Focus
BioGene Therapeutics is advancing innovative therapies in metabolic health and gene-based treatments. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, BioGene Australia, the company leverages Australia's 43.5% R&D tax cashback incentive to support ongoing research and development activities. Currently, BioGene Australia is engaged in pioneering research into GLP-1 receptor agonists (search) and advanced diabetes (search) treatments, including gene therapies designed to address the growing global diabetes and obesity (search) crisis.
BioGene operates as part of PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (search), a health sciences company developing preventive and curative therapies utilizing organic and nature-identical products. PreveCeutical's broader research portfolio includes dual gene therapy for diabetes (search) and obesity (search), a Sol-gel program, Nature Identical peptides for various ailments, non-addictive analgesic peptides, and a therapeutic product for treating athletes with concussions.