Histogenics Names New Board Member

Histogenics Corporation, a late stage company focused on regenerative medicine technologies, has appointed John H. Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson currently is the chairman, president and CEO of Dendreon Corporation.

“We are pleased to welcome John to our board of directors,” said Garheng Kong, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the board of directors, Histogenics. “John’s extensive industry experience in both large pharma organizations as well as venture-backed companies will be a tremendous asset for the Histogenics team.”

Prior to joining Dendreon, Johnson was CEO and a board member of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. from January 2011 through January 2012. Prior to that position, he served as president of Eli Lilly & Company’s Oncology Unit following its 2008 acquisition of Imclone Systems Inc., where he was CEO. Before joining Imclone, he served as the company group chairman of biopharmaceuticals within Johnson & Johnson, where he was responsible for the Johnson & Johnson Biotechnology, Immunology and Oncology commercial businesses.

Johnson held several executive positions at Johnson & Johnson, Parkstone Medical Information Systems, Inc., Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Corp., as well as positions at Pfizer, Inc. He is the former chairman of Tranzyme Pharma Inc., and currently is a board member of Cempra Pharmaceuticals Inc. He also serves as a board member of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and as a member of the Health Section Governing Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

“I am delighted to join the Histogenics board,” said Johnson. “I believe that the company’s technologies have the potential to create novel treatments in the regenerative medicine space.”

Based in Waltham, Mass., Histogenics is a late stage company focused on regenerative medicine technologies, including cell-based therapies, tissue engineering and biologics. Its signature product candidate, NeoCart, targets the musculoskeletal segment of the regenerative medicine marketplace with an initial focus on treating damage to the articular cartilage of the knee using biological, cell-based therapy.