Neurogene Inc. announced the appointment of Christy Shafer as Chief Commercial Officer and the appointment of Christine Mikail, J.D., to its Board of Directors. Effective as of April 20, 2026, Christine Mikail, the Company?s President and Chief Financial Officer, to fill the vacancy created by that expansion. Ms. Mikail was appointed as a Class II director for a term that will expire at the 2028 annual meeting of the Company's stockholders.
Ms. Shafer brings more than 20 years of industry experience building and leading high-performing commercial organizations and launching therapies for rare neurological diseases. Ms. Mikail brings to the Board deep expertise in strategic transactions, capital formation, and corporate development, with a track record of building and positioning companies for long-term value creation. Since joining Neurogene, Ms. Mikail has played a central role in shaping the Company's long-term strategy, strengthening its financial foundation, and supporting advancement of its clinical and corporate objectives.
Christy Shafer most recently served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, North America, of Avidity Biosciences, a late-stage biotech developing RNA therapeutics for rare neuromuscular diseases that was acquired by Novartis. She was responsible for building and leading Avidity's North America commercial organization in advance of its first U.S. product launches. Prior to Avidity, Ms. Shafer served as Chief Commercial Officer at Marinus Pharmaceuticals, where she built and led the commercial organization and launched Ztalmy®, the first approved therapy for seizures associated with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, which led to Marinus Pharmaceuticals' acquisition by Immedica Pharma.
Previously, Ms. Shafer held leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where she supported multiple neurology launches, including Soliris® for generalized myasthenia gravis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, as well as earlier commercial leadership positions at Pacira Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi Biosurgery (formerly Genzyme). She holds a Bachelor of Life Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and completed postbaccalaureate studies in immunology and pharmacology. Ms. Mikail has served as the Company?s President and Chief Financial Officer since December 2023, and as President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company?s wholly owned operating subsidiary, Neurogene Inc., a Nevada corporation (?Neurogene OpCo?
and together with the Company, ?Neurogene?), since September 2019 and as a member of the board of directors of Neurogene OpCo since December 2023. Ms. Mikail leads Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Portfolio Management, Operations, and Finance at the Company. Ms. Mikail brings over two decades of experience supporting biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in corporate strategy and business development, operations, legal and finance capacities.
Prior to her role as President and Chief Financial Officer of Neurogene, Ms. Mikail was Chief Administrative Officer and Head of External Business Development/Alliance Management and General Counsel at Axovant Sciences (which became Sio Gene Therapies Inc. from March 2015 to March 2017, where she was an integral member of the team that raised $362 million in the company?s initial public offering. Prior to Axovant, she held a variety of senior executive positions at NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dendreon Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, and ImClone Systems. Ms. Mikail developed her life sciences focus as a corporate and securities lawyer at the international law firms of Reed Smith LLP and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. Ms. Mikail received her B.A., cum laude, from Rutgers University and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in New York.
