Agios Appoints Jonathan Biller as Chief Legal Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Biller to the newly created role of chief legal officer effective December 3, 2019. Prior to Agios, Mr. Biller served as executive vice president, general counsel at Celgene Corporation.

“With 30 years of broad legal, tax and treasury experience, Jonathan is an excellent addition to our leadership team during this time of growth at Agios,” said Jackie Fouse, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Agios. “In particular, his expertise with international legal matters and business development will be instrumental as we continue to deliver on value-creating milestones.”

Mr. Biller served as executive vice president, general counsel at Celgene from July 2018 to November 2019 where he was responsible for Celgene’s global legal function. He joined Celgene in 2011, serving as senior vice president, tax and treasury, responsible for Celgene’s global tax and treasury functions including the company’s capital allocation strategy and tax policy. Prior to Celgene, Mr. Biller was general counsel, chief tax officer and secretary, from 2008 to 2011 at Bunge Limited, a publicly traded agriculture and food company. Prior to Bunge, Mr. Biller held roles of increasing responsibility at Alcon, Inc. during which time it was a publicly traded company. He began his legal career at Hopkins & Sutter rising to the level of partner and was also partner at Foley & Lardner after the firms merged. Mr. Biller also serves on the Board of Junior Achievement New Jersey. He holds a B.A. degree from Brown University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

“I have great admiration for Agios’s accomplishments over the past 10 years,” said Mr. Biller. “I am thrilled to join this growing team with a shared commitment to fostering a culture of energy, passion and desire to bring out the best in each other in pursuit of great science that will benefit patients.”

About Agios

Agios is focused on discovering and developing novel investigational medicines to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases through scientific leadership in the field of cellular metabolism and adjacent areas of biology. In addition to an active research and discovery pipeline across both therapeutic areas, Agios has two approved oncology precision medicines and multiple first-in-class investigational therapies in clinical and/or preclinical development. All Agios programs focus on genetically identified patient populations, leveraging our knowledge of metabolism, biology and genomics. For more information, please visit the company's website at .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include those regarding the expected benefits of Mr. Biller’s employment and Agios’ strategic plans and focus. The words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "plans," "will," "outlook" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from Agios' current expectations and beliefs. For example, there can be no guarantee that any product candidate Agios is developing will successfully commence or complete necessary preclinical and clinical development phases, that development of any of Agios' product candidates will successfully continue, or that any positive developments in Agios' business will result in stock price appreciation. Management's expectations and, therefore, any forward-looking statements in this press release could also be affected by risks and uncertainties relating to a number of other important factors, including: Agios' results of clinical trials and preclinical studies, including subsequent analysis of existing data and new data received from ongoing and future studies; the content and timing of decisions made by the U.S. FDA and other regulatory authorities, investigational review boards at clinical trial sites and publication review bodies; Agios' ability to obtain and maintain requisite regulatory approvals and to enroll patients in its planned clinical trials; unplanned cash requirements and expenditures; competitive factors; Agios' ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for any product candidates it is developing; Agios' ability to maintain key collaborations; and general economic and market conditions. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption "Risk Factors" included in Agios’ public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Agios expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Holly Manning, 617-844-6630

Associate Director, Investor Relations