CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 34 CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2018 USA CHRISTINE SILVERSTEIN Senior Vice President of Abeona Therapeutics FIRM PROFILE Abeona Therapeutics is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. Developing therapies for rare disease requires new approaches and strong collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups. Abeona was forged from the company’s close collaborations with key stakeholders all dedicated to transforming new biotechnology insights into breakthrough treatments for rare diseases such as Sanfilippo syndrome, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Batten disease, Fanconi anemia and other rare disorders. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ABEO) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Developing therapies for rare disease requires new approaches and strong collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups. Abeona was forged from the company’s close collaborations with key stakeholders all dedicated to transforming new biotechnology insights into breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. Advancing treatments for rare diseases… We believe emerging insights in genetics and advances in biotechnology, as well as new approaches and collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups, provide significant opportunities to develop breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases, which may involve chronic illness, disability, and often, premature death. More than 25 million Americans and 30 million Europeans have one. While rare diseases can affect any age group, about 50% of people affected are children (15 million); and rare diseases account for 35% of deaths in the first year of life. These rare diseases are often poorly diagnosed, very complex, and have no treatment or not very effective treatment—over 95% of rare diseases do not have a single FDA or EMA approved drug treatment. However, most rare diseases are often caused by changes in genes—80% are genetic in origin and can present at any stage of life. ABOUT CHRISTINE SILVERSTEIN Christine Silverstein, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Finance, joined the company in May of 2016, bringing 15 years of experience in in capital market strategies, investor relations and media communications in healthcare. Silverstein began her career in the financial services as an investment advisor at Royal Alliance Associates before moving into investor relations industry. Prior to her current position, Silverstein was a Director of Investor Relations at Relmada Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical stage, publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company. Additionally, she served as a Managing Director at SCO Financial Group, a New York-based corporate advisory firm and held senior positions at both The Investor Relations Group (IRG) and Corporate Profile LLC, two boutique investor and public relations agencies. Silverstein’s core focus during her tenure included consulting C-level management on capital markets strategies, media, fundraising initiatives, crisis management and regulatory issues. Christine holds a B.S. from the Peter Tobin College of Business, St. John’s University. www.abeonatherapeutics.com