Sarepta, in search of a turnaround, taps ex-AbbVie exec Severino as CEO

An article from Sarepta, in search of a turnaround, taps ex-AbbVie exec Severino as CEO Most recently the leader of buzzy startup Tessera Therapeutics, Severino will look to improve the fortunes of a company that’s lost most of its market value over the last two years. Published July 27, 2026 Ben Fidler Lead Editor Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Add us on Google Sarepta Therapeutics has found the leader it hopes can engineer a desperately needed turnaround. The company on Monday announced that Michael Severino, an executive with leadership experience at startups as well as large drugmakers, will become its next CEO effective July 28. He’ll replace longtime leader Doug Ingram, who in February announced plans to retire after a tumultuous run. Severino has been working in the biopharmaceutical industry for more than two decades, including stops at AbbVie and Amgen. At AbbVie, Severino helped bring to market multiple drugs for psoriasis, arthritis, cancer and hepatitis C. At Amgen, he oversaw research and development as the company’s senior vice president of development and corporate chief medical officer. In 2022, Severino left AbbVie to run Tessera Therapeutics, a buzzy “gene writing” startup backed by Flagship Pioneering. Tessera recently brought its first drug prospect, a gene editing treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, into clinical testing. Last week, Tessera announced that Severino had joined a “commercial stage” biotech company and that former Merck & Co. executive Joseph Romanelli would serve as its next leader. “Over a distinguished 25-year career in biopharmaceuticals, [Severino] has demonstrated a combination of scientific depth, development expertise, and proven execution that consistently delivers results,” said Sarepta board chair M. Kathleen Behrens, in a statement. “His industry experience, strategic vision and commitment to patients, coupled with having built industry-leading franchises across multiple therapeutic areas, give us great confidence as he works to build on Sarepta’s strengths and steer the company as it continues to advance promising science on behalf of patients.” In stepping into the head seat at Sarepta, though, Severino is taking over a company at a strategic crossroads. Since 2016, Sarepta has brought to market a handful of drugs, as well as a gene therapy called Elevidys, for the deadly neuromuscular disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy. That franchise has become a lucrative business and made Sarepta, for a time, one of the sector’s more valuable drugmakers. In June 2024, company shares surpassed $158 apiece as Elevidys gained a broad U.S. approval and was projected by many Wall Street analysts to become a multibillion-dollar seller. That financial success even led the company to cut a big deal with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to stock up on RNA medicines. Yet Sarepta never proved in placebo-controlled trials that its treatments could definitively alter the course of Duchenne. Two of its drugs — Vyondys 53 and Amondys 45 — failed the top goal of a study designed to confirm their benefits. Elevidys also fell short in that kind of trial, and last year, the treatment was involved in an unusual controversy with the Food and Drug Administration after being linked to the deaths of two drug recipients. Elevidys was temporarily removed from the market and, since then, the FDA has limited use. In the meantime, Sarepta cut staff, halted much of its gene therapy work and pushed off debt payments to cover partnership costs due to Arrowhead. It substantially dialed back financial projections for Elevidys. Gene therapy sales have accordingly dwindled, while would-be competitors for Sarepta’s other drugs inched closer to regulatory clearances. Investors are also unsure whether the Arrowhead-partnered drugs it’s now leaning on stand out from rival therapies. At about $16 apiece, shares have lost most of their value over the last two years. The company is now worth roughly what it was 10 years ago. To Leerink Partners analyst Joseph Schwartz, Severino’s appointment is a positive, as the incoming CEO brings “a relevant combination of scientific, development, regulatory, commercial and strategic experience at a critical point” for the company. His arrival also addresses “one of the key uncertainties” facing Sarepta’s future direction. Still, Schwartz noted how Severino’s hire doesn’t necessarily solve Sarepta’s issues. Increasing Elevidys demand and clear “differentiation” for Sarepta’s RNA drugs would give investors more confidence, he wrote. Sarepta will report its latest quarterly earnings numbers on Aug. 5. Recommended Reading Sarepta CEO Doug Ingram to retire, with company at a crossroads By Ben Fidler • Feb. 26, 2026 Add us on Google Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Filed Under: Gene Therapy