Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. announced that its board of directors has appointed Damien McDevitt, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. McDevitt has served as interim CEO of Akcea since September 2019 and will continue to serve as a member of the Akcea board of directors. Dr. McDevitt’s career spans more than 30 years, including most recently as chief business officer for Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Ionis, he was a senior vice president at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals. Prior to ACADIA, Dr. McDevitt was with GSK for more than two decades. He served on both the R&D Technology Investment Board and the Infectious Disease Therapy Area Unit Board, providing input to critical R&D investments for over 10 years.