Bringing a Breakthrough Rare Disease Product to Patients: Q&A with Helen Sabzevari

Following their appearance on a panel at the 44^th annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Precigen president and CEO Helen Sabzevari and EVERSANA’s president Greg Skalicky spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about the recent launch of Papzimeos and the partnership between the two companies. In the first part of this two-part interview, Sabzevari discusses the clinical data behind the new drug and the launch experience.

Pharmaceutical Executive: Tell us about Precigen and your focus.
Helen Sabzevari: Precigen is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the advancement of innovative precision medicines to address difficult-to-treat diseases with high unmet patient need. Our strategy is centered on targeted innovations paired with disciplined execution, allowing us to advance programs efficiently from development through commercialization.

We prioritize assets where we can create clear clinical and regulatory differentiation and build sustainable value in an efficient manner. With Papzimeos now commercially launched, Precigen has transitioned into a commercial-stage organization, while continuing to advance a broader pipeline and platform designed to support future growth.

PE: You recently launched Papzimeos. Tell us briefly about the drug and how it helps patients.
Sabzevari: Papzimeos is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare and debilitating chronic disease. RRP was managed for more than a century through repeated surgeries. Papzimeos is an HPV-specific immunotherapy and from a value standpoint, represents a novel, category-creating product, addressing the underlying driver of RRP (chronic HPV infection) rather than managing symptoms.

Clinically, Papzimeos offers patients a non-surgical treatment option that has the potential to significantly reduce surgical burden for RRP patients. In clinical studies, Papzimeos demonstrated complete responses in a majority of patients, with long-term durability observed in responders, supporting its potential to deliver sustained clinical benefit over time. Importantly, PAPZIMEOS has been shown to meaningfully reduce surgical burden, which is a primary driver of morbidity, healthcare utilization, and quality-of-life impact in RRP.

Papzimeos is helping to establish a new standard of care for the treatment ofadults with RRP, shifting the treatment paradigm away from repeated symptom-driven surgery toward earlier intervention that addresses the underlying cause of disease. In January 2026, the Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation (RRPF) and 16 leading physicians in the field of RRP published a consensus paper in The Laryngoscope, one of the field's most respected peer-reviewed journals, recommending Papzimeos as the new standard of care first-line treatment for adults with RRP.

PE: As you went through the launch process, what helped inform the decision to look for an external commercialization partner?
Sabzevari: The decision was driven by an assessment of speed, capital efficiency, and risk management. We recognized early that building a full commercial infrastructure internally for a rare disease launch would be capital intensive and potentially slower than partnering with an organization that already had the capabilities in place.

By leveraging capabilities of an external commercialization partner under the executive leadership of Precigen, we were able to accelerate time to market, reduce fixed costs, and maintain strategic flexibility, while ensuring high quality execution across patient access, reimbursement, and field engagement. This approach allowed us to focus internal resources on pipeline advancement and long-term value creation.

PE: Tell us about that process—how long did it take from start to finish and what did you look for in a partner?
Sabzevari: The process was streamlined and highly disciplined, taking several months from initial evaluation to full execution. We evaluated partners against a defined set of criteria.

Key considerations included demonstrated rare disease launch experience, strong payer and patient services capabilities, and the ability to scale without introducing unnecessary complexity. Equally important was cultural and strategic alignment. We were looking for a partner who understood our objectives and could operate as a true extension of the Precigen team.

Ultimately, the decision came down to execution confidence and alignment with our long-term strategy.

PE: What did it mean to Precigen to bring this therapy to market so quickly?
Sabzevari: Bringing PAPZIMEOS to market efficiently was an important proof point for Precigen. It demonstrated our ability to execute across the full value chain, from development and regulatory approval through commercialization, without losing momentum or discipline.

From an investor perspective, it validated our operating model: focused programs, rapid execution, and a clear emphasis on stakeholder value creation. It also positions Precigen to leverage the commercial infrastructure and learnings from PAPZIMEOS as we continue to advance additional programs.