Zafgen Appoints 20-Year Biotechnology Industry Veteran Patricia Allen, CPA, as Chief Financial Officer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 4, 2013 - Zafgen, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical
company dedicated to addressing the unmet needs of severely obese patients, today
announced the appointment of Patricia Allen, CPA, to the position of Chief Financial Officer,
effective immediately. Ms. Allen succeeds Matthias Jaffe, who oversaw financial operations
and business development at Zafgen during the series B and C financing of the company.
Ms. Allen offers 20 years of financial leadership experience in the biotechnology industry at
both publicly traded and private companies. For the past two years, she has provided
independent consulting services to biotechnology companies in a variety of areas, including
interim CFO services, fundraising, deal structures, financial planning, organizational
structure, investor relations and business development.
Previously, Ms. Allen served as the Vice President of Finance, Treasurer and Principal
Financial Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY), where she had significant
interactions with the investment community and was influential in raising over $900 million
between 2004 and 2011 via the Company’s initial public offering, follow-on common stock
offerings and multiple business development transactions with top-tier pharmaceutical
companies, including Novartis, Roche and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. While at Alnylam, she
was also responsible for all external financial reporting. Ms. Allen’s public company and
financial reporting duties also include serving as the Corporate Controller and eventually the
Director of Finance at Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS). In her 12 years at Alkermes, she
was intimately involved in business development transactions and interactions with the
investment community, and helped to raise over $700 million through follow-on common - 2 -
stock offerings, private offerings with institutional investors, convertible preferred stock,
convertible debt, and R&D partnerships.
Ms. Allen began her career as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. In her eight years with
the firm, she worked extensively with private and public companies in multiple industries,
including biotechnology, on initial public offerings and follow-on offering transactions, as
well as SEC reporting requirements. Ms. Allen graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bryant
College with a B.S. in Business Administration and is a certified public accountant.
“We are extremely pleased to have an executive with Patty’s financial pedigree join our
management team as Zafgen’s business continues to evolve,” said Tom Hughes, President
and CEO of Zafgen. “She has a deep understanding of the biotechnology industry, and her
significant public company experience will be an important asset to us as we continue to
evaluate our strategic options. I look forward to working closely with Patty as we progress
towards our goal of bringing beloranib to market. Additionally, I would like to thank
Matthias for his significant contributions to Zafgen over the past three years.”
"I am very excited to be joining the Company at this stage of its development and believe my
broad-based financial and operational leadership skills complement the management team
already in place,” commented Ms. Allen on her appointment. “With beloranib, Zafgen has
developed a highly innovative and differentiated product that has the potential to change the
lives of patients suffering from obesity. I look forward to utilizing my financial and industry
expertise to support Zafgen in evaluating our strategic options and bringing this promising
product candidate to market.”
About Beloranib
Beloranib is the first compound in its class that works by targeting a key enzyme called
MetAP2 that controls the production and utilization of fatty acids. Inhibitors of MetAP2
reduce the production of new fatty acid molecules by the liver and help to convert stored fats
into useful energy. Beloranib is being developed as a twice-weekly subcutaneous injection
for severe obesity. Zafgen holds exclusive worldwide rights (exclusive of Korea) for
development and commercialization of beloranib. The company licensed beloranib from
CKD Pharma.
About Zafgen, Inc.
Zafgen is an innovative company dedicated to addressing the unmet need of severely obese
patients by bringing beloranib, a first-in-class novel medicine, to market. Founded in 2005 as
a capital efficient company, Zafgen brings together leading experts in obesity and metabolic
disease to address the underserved and growing population of patients who are severely
obese. Zafgen's singular focus is on advancing novel therapeutics for patients suffering from
severe obesity and obesity-related disorders. The company is located in Cambridge, MA.