Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative treatments for neuromuscular diseases, cardiometabolic disorders, and other serious diseases, announced today that David Hallal has been appointed Chief Executive Officer succeeding Jay Backstrom, M.D. David Hallal has served as Chairman of the Board at Scholar Rock since 2017 and just prior to that spent more than a decade as CEO, COO, and CCO of Alexion building and leading the company's 50-country operating platform. As part of this planned transition, Dr. Backstrom will serve as a strategic advisor, working closely with the company's executive team and Board of Directors.

Scholar Rock also announced today the addition of three leaders with unparalleled experience and success in building global organizations focused on developing and commercializing life-changing therapies.

• Akshay Vaishnaw, M.D., Ph.D., has been named President of R&D; he was formerly President of Alnylam.
• R. Keith Woods has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and will focus on evolving the organization into a fully integrated global enterprise; he was formerly COO of argenx.
• Vikas Sinha is joining as Chief Financial Officer; he was formerly CFO of Alexion and ElevateBio.

"On behalf of the Board, we are deeply grateful to Jay for his leadership over the past three years - driving us through the highly successful apitegromab global Phase 3 program and now into the US and European regulatory processes for marketing authorization," said Mr. Hallal. "As Board Chair, I have been continuously collaborating with Jay to accelerate Scholar Rock's evolution into a global biotech leader. These efforts will be amplified by the immediate addition of Akshay, Keith and Vikas - three operators that have built and led some of the most successful biotech companies in our industry. Together, we are committed to realizing Scholar Rock's global ambitions to bring apitegromab to SMA patients around the world."

"It has been an honor to lead the incredible team at Scholar Rock over the past several years. I am very proud of all we have achieved - from advancing apitegromab through a successful, pivotal Phase 3 study and on the path to becoming a commercial company," said Dr. Backstrom. "With the BLA now accepted under priority review and the anticipated launch later this year, this is the right moment for our leadership transition. I'm grateful for the close partnership over the years with David and Akshay as board members, and I look forward to continuing our collaboration on behalf of the SMA community to bring our highly innovative apitegromab, the world's first muscle targeted treatment, to patients and families living with the impact of this severe and progressive disease."