- Appointments include industry veterans Aaron Kantoff, Jonathan Goldman, and Samantha Truex as Independent Directors
- Board of Director appointments in conjunction with Avalo’s recent acquisition of AVTX-009, an anti-IL-1β mAb, and up to $185 million private placement financing
WAYNE, Pa. and ROCKVILLE, Md., April 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVTX) today announced the addition of multiple biotech leaders to its Board of Directors. The Avalo Board brings together a team with expertise spanning finance, business operations, drug discovery and clinical development.
“I am honored to announce these additions to our Board of Directors and welcome their operational expertise as we pursue the promise of rapidly developing AVTX-009 in hidradenitis suppurativa and other devastating autoimmune conditions," said Garry A. Neil, MD, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Avalo.
The recent board appointments include Aaron Kantoff, Jonathan Goldman, and Samantha Truex as Independent Directors.
Aaron Kantoff is a founder and Managing Partner of Scion Life Sciences. He has spent over a decade specializing in founding, building and investing in biotech companies. Aaron was a founding board member of Tourmaline Bio (Nasdaq: TRML), Centessa Pharmaceuticals, and RayzeBio, which was recently acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. From 2011 until 2019, Aaron was a Partner at Apple Tree Partners (ATP), a life sciences venture capital firm. During his time at ATP, he was a board member of several companies, including Akero Therapeutics , Corvidia (acquired by Novo Nordisk), and Syntimmune (acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). Aaron received a B.S. in finance and international business from the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Jonathan Goldman, MD has 30 years of experience across life sciences as a CEO, Chief Medical Officer, investor, and senior executive. He currently serves as the CEO of Clinical ink, a global life science company that brings data, technology, and patient-centric research together. Prior to Clinical ink, Jonathan served as the CEO and a board member of Abzena and was previously the CEO of Aptuit. He has also held senior executive positions at ICON plc and Point Biomedical Corp. in addition to holding appointments as Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine in the division of Cardiology at the University of California San Francisco, and as an Attending Cardiologist at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center. Jonathan trained in medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, in London and in cardiology at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London. He received a BSc in immunology, as well as MBBS and MD degrees in medicine from the University of London, UK. He was awarded MBAs by Columbia University in New York and the University of California at Berkeley.
Samantha Truex is a seasoned biotech executive with almost 30 years of industry experience, including the last five years in CEO roles. Sam is on the board of Artios Pharma and has previously served on the boards of Hotspot Therapeutics, iPierian (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb) and True North (acquired by Bioverativ Inc.). Sam was the founding CEO of Upstream Bio, the CEO of Quench Bio, COO of Synlogic and CBO for Padlock Therapeutics. Previously, Sam was Vice President of Corporate Development at Biogen Inc. where she led transactional business development activities and served as program executive for now-marketed products FAMPYRA,® ELOCTATE™ and ALPROLIX™. Sam also previously worked in Corporate Development at Genzyme, Chiron Diagnostics and in consulting for Health Advances. Sam earned a BA in biology from Dartmouth College, a BE in biomedical engineering from the Thayer School at Dartmouth and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth. Samantha also chairs the Board of Advisors for Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and is a member of the Board of Advisors for Life Science Cares.
About AVTX-009
AVTX-009 is a humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG4) that binds to interleukin-1β (IL-1β) with high affinity and neutralizes its activity. IL-1β is a central driver in the inflammatory process. Overproduction or dysregulation of IL-1β is implicated in many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. IL-1β is a major, validated target for therapeutic intervention. There is evidence that inhibition of IL-1β could be effective in hidradenitis suppurativa and a variety of inflammatory diseases in dermatology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology.
About Avalo Therapeutics
Avalo Therapeutics is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the treatment of immune dysregulation. Avalo’s lead asset is AVTX-009, an anti-IL-1β mAb, targeting inflammatory diseases. Avalo’s pipeline also includes quisovalimab (anti-LIGHT mAb) and AVTX-008 (BTLA agonist fusion protein). For more information about Avalo, please visit www.avalotx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond Avalo’s control), which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to Avalo’s plans, objectives, projections, expectations and intentions and other statements identified by words such as “projects,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “continue,” “seeks,” “aims,” “predicts,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential,” or similar expressions (including their use in the negative), or by discussions of future matters such as: the intended use of the proceeds from the private placement; integration of AVTX-009 into our operations, including trial design and IND preparation and filing for the planned Phase 2 trial; drug development costs, timing of trials and trial results, and other risks, particularly for AVTX-009, including reliance on investigators and enrollment of patients in clinical trials; reliance on key personnel; regulatory risks; general economic and market risks and uncertainties, including those caused the war in Ukraine and the Middle East; and those other risks detailed in Avalo’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, Avalo expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Avalo’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
For media and investor inquiries:
Christopher Sullivan, CFO
Avalo Therapeutics, Inc.
ir@avalotx.com
410-803-6793
or
Chris Brinzey
ICR Westwicke
Chris.brinzey@westwicke.com
339-970-2843
