(CercleFinance.com) – GenSight Biologics shares rose on Friday morning after the struggling biopharmaceutical company announced the appointment of Laurence Rodriguez, a former Sanofi Genzyme executive, to the position of CEO.
Around 12:30 p.m., the stock gained 0.7% after gaining more than 5% at the start of the morning.
Laurence Rodriguez notably served as director of the rare diseases and rare hematological diseases entity at Sanofi Genzyme, where she oversaw the successful launch of numerous treatments.
The executive, who joined GenSight in 2021 as director of operations for France, will replace Bernard Gilly, co-founder of the company in 2012 who will remain a director of the company although no longer assuming operational responsibilities.
Despite today’s small rebound, the stock is down 85% this year, due to the withdrawal last April of its application for marketing authorization in Europe for Lumevoq, its gene therapy.
‘Three years ago, almost to the day, GenSight announced that it had submitted a marketing application to the European Medicines Agency,’ Invest Securities analysts recalled this morning.
‘If the outlook was then rather optimistic, the regulatory and stock market journey will unfortunately not have confirmed the hopes,’ underlines the brokerage firm.