Athersys, Inc. announced the appointment of Joseph “Joe” Nolan to its Board of Directors, effective January 4, 2023. Mr. Nolan is an experienced biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Gene Therapy, LLC. With this appointment, Athersys has five Directors, four of whom are independent.

Mr. Nolan has particular expertise in launching products that treat central nervous system disorders, most in orphan and specialty settings. Prior to Jaguar, he was General Manager of AveXis (now Novartis Gene Therapies), where he was a part of the team that launched Zolgensma for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, one of two recently approved gene therapies in the U.S. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nolan served as President at Dohmen Life Science Services, Chief Commercial Officer at Marathon Pharmaceuticals and Chief Commercial Officer at Lundbeck Inc. He has also held senior positions at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Laboratories. Mr. Nolan is a Director of Jaguar Gene Therapy and Axovia Therapeutics.

He holds a B.S. in Finance from Tulane University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.