Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Lisa Johnson-Pratt, M.D., has joined the company as senior vice president of new product strategy. In this role, Dr. Johnson-Pratt will drive Akcea’s corporate strategy and provide strategic support for the development and commercialization of new pipeline products. She will report to Damien McDevitt, Ph.D., interim chief executive officer at the company. The company also announced the appointment of Joshua Patterson as general counsel. Mr. Patterson previously served as vice president, legal and corporate secretary at the company. Dr. Johnson-Pratt has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry including leadership positions in marketing, operations and clinical research and development. Previously Dr. Johnson-Pratt was with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where she most recently served as vice president of global franchise operations. She joined GSK as head of pipeline and oncology commercial strategy and also served as marketing director of innovative assets at Stiefel Laboratories. Prior to GSK, Dr. Johnson-Pratt worked at Merck & Co., Inc. for more than 17 years, holding several leadership roles including most recently business unit director, Vietnam. She is also the founder of Ananias Ventures, LLC, which provides counsel and support for female professionals in a range of industries including the life sciences industry. Mr. Patterson has more than 19 years of experience serving as in-house counsel in the biopharmaceutical industry. He joined the company as vice president, legal and corporate secretary in March 2018 and was responsible for the company’s legal matters including strategic transactions and providing legal advice and counsel to the management team and board of directors. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Patterson was a member of the legal team at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., most recently serving as executive director and deputy general counsel. He also previously served as in-house counsel at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was responsible for general corporate transactions, legal issues associated with clinical trials and privacy matters.