Gene Therapy Pioneer Jerry R. Mendell, M.D., Named to Inaugural TIME100 Health List of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Health
– TIME recognizes Dr. Mendell's decades-long contributions in the treatment of neuromuscular disease and the advancement of gene therapy, including the first gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT), the leader in precision genetic medicine for rare diseases, today announced that TIME named renown neuromuscular researcher, physician and gene therapy pioneer Jerry R. Mendell, M.D., to the inaugural 2024 TIME100 Health, a list of 100 individuals who most influenced global health this year. Dr. Mendell was recognized for his lifetime commitment to neuromuscular disease and achievements in genetic medicine that propelled a new age of treatment for several genetic diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The TIME100 Health list recognizes the impact, innovation, and achievement of the world's most influential individuals in health. TIME selected a community of leaders across industries dedicated to creating tangible and credible change for a healthier population, including pioneering scientists who are steering the evolution of global health in 2024.
"Dr. Mendell's humility and compassion for patients and families shines through his relentless focus on advancing science with the potential to change the course of devastating, fatal and once untreatable neuromuscular diseases," said Louise Rodino-Klapac, Ph.D., executive vice president, head of R&D and chief scientific officer, Sarepta Therapeutics. "I have had the honor of working with Dr. Mendell for many years, first at Nationwide Children's Hospital and now at Sarepta, to see some of his life's work come to fruition. Dr. Mendell's accomplishments in the field of neuromuscular disease, and the care that he provided to patients and their families in more than 50 years of practice, continue to inspire Sarepta and others working to advance the science of genetic medicine."
Dr. Mendell began his career at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and shortly after he met his first patient living with Duchenne. His early work was followed by decades as a clinician and researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital to understand Duchenne's progressive muscle wasting trajectory and ways to intervene to slow or alter the course of the disease. He is a pioneer in gene therapy for neuromuscular diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and during his tenure at Nationwide Children's served as an investigator for multiple clinical trials, including those for Duchenne and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs). Dr. Mendell recently retired from his clinical and research role at Nationwide Children's and is now serving as an advisor to Sarepta and to the Center for Gene Therapy in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's.
In addition to recognition on the TIME100 Health list, Dr. Mendell is a 2024 recipient of the King Faisal Prize Laureate in Medicine. In 2021, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and was the first recipient of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT)'s Jerry Mendell Translational Medicine Award. He is also a published author of more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and books about skeletal muscle disease, peripheral nerve disorders and gene therapy.
About Sarepta Therapeutics
Sarepta is on an urgent mission: engineer precision genetic medicine for rare diseases that devastate lives and cut futures short. We hold leadership positions in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMDs), and we currently have more than 40 programs in various stages of development. Our vast pipeline is driven by our multi-platform Precision Genetic Medicine Engine in gene therapy, RNA and gene editing. For more information, please visit www.sarepta.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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