Latus Bio has appointed Donald Hayden, M.B.A., as Chairman of the Board and Michael MacLean as an Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee. “Don’s track record of building and chairing successful biotechnology companies, together with Mike’s deep operating, financial, and transactions expertise, will be invaluable as we advance our two lead programs into the clinic,” said P. Peter Ghoroghchian, CEO of Latus Bio.
About Donald Hayden
Hayden brings decades of pharmaceutical leadership and board governance experience across the biotechnology industry to the role. “Latus is pursuing one of the most differentiated approaches in gene therapy with its novel and highly specific AAV capsid variants that enable low-dose delivery to disease-relevant tissues and cell types,With two lead programs advancing into clinical development and a platform built to address a broad range of other disorders, I am honored to join this exceptional team and to help guide the Company through its next phase of growth ” Hayden said.
Hayden has served as Chairman of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical since 2008, and has previously chaired the boards of Insmed, REGENXBIO, Amicus Therapeutics, Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Areteia Therapeutics, WindMIL Therapeutics, Dimension Therapeutics, and Gloucester Pharmaceuticals. Before his board career, he spent 25 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, culminating in his role as President, Global Pharmaceuticals.
Hayden holds an M.B.A. from Indiana University and a B.A. from Harvard University.
About Michael MacLean
MacLean brings decades of financial leadership across the biotechnology industry to the role, with deep experience funding biotechnology companies advancing novel therapies in the rare and orphan disease space.
“I am thrilled to join Latus and its highly driven and passionate team. The company’s AAV gene therapy pipeline and novel capsid variants hold tremendous potential for delivering meaningful therapeutic benefits for patients,” said Michael MacLean, Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Latus Bio. “The Company is rapidly approaching key clinical inflection points and is poised for tremendous growth.”
He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Avidity Biosciences through its 2026 acquisition by Novartis for more than $12 billion. Before that, he was CFO of Akcea Therapeutics, where he led the buildout of the company’s financial and commercial infrastructure, and CFO of PureTech Health. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Accounting Officer of Biogen, leading the company’s worldwide finance operations.
MacLean is a former independent director at Verve Therapeutics, which was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2025, and currently serves on the boards of CAMP4 Therapeutics and Research Alliance Corporation III.
About Latus Bio
Latus Bio is a biotechnology company dedicated to addressing devastating central nervous system and peripheral diseases through innovative and scalable gene therapies. The company is advancing a broad therapeutics pipeline based on novel AAV capsid variants engineered for potency and specificity, powered by a team of scientists, clinicians, and industry executives. Latus Bio has offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in the Seaport neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
