Sarah Boyce Joins Akcea Therapeutics as President

Akcea Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKCA]]) has named Sarah Boyce president of the Cambridge, MA-based drug developer. She is also joining the company’s board of directors. Boyce comes to Akcea from Carlsbad, CA-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IONS]]), where she was chief business officer. Boyce’s move follows a March deal in which Ionis agreed to share the rights to two drugs developed for transthyretin amyloidosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease, in exchange for $150 million in Akcea shares. The most advanced of the two drugs, inotersen, is currently being reviewed by regulators in the U.S. and Europe.

Author: Frank Vinluan

Xconomy Editor Frank Vinluan is a business journalist with experience covering technology and life sciences. Based in Raleigh, he was a staff writer at the Triangle Business Journal covering technology, biotechnology and energy before joining MedCityNews.com as North Carolina bureau chief. Prior to moving to North Carolina’s Research Triangle in 2007 he held business reporting positions at The Des Moines Register and The Seattle Times. View all posts by Frank Vinluan