Joseph La Barge

Mr. La Barge is CEO and serves on the Board of Managers of Apertura Gene Therapy. Previously, he was an executive at Spark Therapeutics, Inc., serving as Chief Business Officer from 2019 to 2021 and as Chief Legal Officer from 2013 to 2019. In these roles, he oversaw many areas of the company’s growth, including business development, patient advocacy, quality assurance, legal affairs, compliance, finance, public policy, and global pricing and reimbursement, growing the company to 830 employees over eight years. He led the negotiation of Spark’s acquisition by Roche, raised more than $1 billion in capital from private and public financings, and oversaw the in-license of numerous product candidates and platform technologies. Mr. La Barge also managed the acquisition and construction of Spark’s initial 180,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, including GMP suites, to manufacture the global supply of Luxturna. Prior to Spark, Mr. La Barge served as Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer at Tengion, Inc., where he was responsible for managing legal affairs, compliance, and quality assurance. La Barge has served as a Member of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Government Affairs Committee. He earned his B.A. in Education and Psychology at Bucknell University and his J.D. at the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.