Axcella Appoints Bill Hinshaw as President and Chief Executive Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–May 31, 2018– Axcella Health, a biotechnology company pioneering a new class of products to rebalance patients’ metabolic state to address serious unmet medical needs, announces today the appointment of William (Bill) Hinshaw as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hinshaw is a highly accomplished health care executive with nearly three decades of global pharmaceutical experience and was most recently Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. Oncology at Novartis.

“Bill joins Axcella’s leadership team at a key inflection point in the company’s strategic and clinical evolution with a proven track record of overseeing the successful clinical development and commercialization of numerous therapeutic franchises across multiple geographies,” said David Epstein, Chairman of the Axcella Board of Directors and Executive Partner of Flagship Pioneering. “Axcella has made substantial progress in 2018 as we continue advancing our proprietary platform and expanding our pipeline of novel metabolic modulators. We are excited to have Bill on board to lead the company through its next phase. I want to thank Bob Connelly whose leadership and dedication over the last five years have put Axcella on our current growth trajectory.”

Prior to Axcella, Mr. Hinshaw led all aspects of Novartis’ >$6B revenue U.S. Oncology business, including products such as Tasigna®, Gleevec®, and Kymriah®; the integration of the GSK oncology portfolio and driving greater patient centricity. He also played a key role on the Global Oncology Executive Committee, including leading crucial strategic programs to maximize the portfolio and develop the pipeline.

Prior to this role, Mr. Hinshaw held a number of leadership positions of increasing responsibility and expanding global scope at Novartis, including Head of the NCE (Northern and Central Europe) Region for Novartis Oncology, GEM (Group Emerging Markets), as Head of the Hematology Business Franchise, and Global Head of Infectious Disease and Transplantation (IDTI). Before joining Novartis, Bill worked at the former Schering Plough Corporation where he held a series of commercial roles, including the Head of US Oncology. Mr. Hinshaw holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin.

“I was drawn to Axcella by the importance and fundamental nature of their science, and the potential of their platform to transform patients’ lives. I am thrilled to join the company at this critical stage and look forward to leading the organization with passion and purpose into its next phase of growth,” said Mr. Hinshaw.

About Axcella™ Health
Metabolic dysregulation is at the heart of many diseases. Axcella is combining endogenous metabolic modulators to develop powerful new medicines with the goal of addressing metabolic dysregulation by safely reprogramming cellular physiology with unprecedented multifactorial effects. Our AXA™ product candidates leverage the diversity and synergy of metabolic modulators to restore health across a network of dysregulated pathways. With our platform, we are transforming traditional drug discovery and development. Our platform has already produced a rich pipeline of product candidates in programs that include liver, muscle, CNS and other target indications. www.axcellahealth.com