REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVM), a clinical-stage gene therapy company, announced today the appointment of Dr. Rabia Gurses Ozden as the new Chief Medical Officer and the addition of Dr. Szilárd Kiss to its Board of Directors. Dr. Ozden, who has over two decades of experience in ophthalmology drug development, previously held a seat on the Board, which will now be filled by Dr. Kiss, a renowned retina specialist.
The company is currently advancing its gene therapy candidate, Ixo-vec, through the LUNA trial for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD (NASDAQ:AMD)).
Dr. Laurent Fischer, President and CEO of Adverum, expressed confidence that the expertise of Drs. Ozden and Kiss will be instrumental in the development of Ixo-vec, which is being evaluated as a single-administration therapy.
Dr. Ozden's prior roles include Chief Medical Officer for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) and leadership positions at Akouos and Nightstar Therapeutics. Her experience spans clinical development, operations, and pharmacovigilance, with a focus on AAV gene therapies for ocular diseases.
Dr. Kiss, who will be joining the Board of Directors, is the Bob and Dolores Hope - Robert M. Ellsworth, M.D. Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Ophthalmology in Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He has a track record of over 20 years in ocular gene therapy and has been involved in numerous clinical trials and research publications.
The appointments come at a critical time for Adverum as they seek to position Ixo-vec as a potential lifelong solution to preserve sight for patients with wet AMD. The company aims to address the burden of frequent eye injections currently required for wet AMD treatment by providing a gene therapy that could reduce the number of injections needed.
This shift in leadership is part of Adverum's strategy to leverage its proprietary intravitreal (IVT) platform in developing therapies for ocular diseases. Adverum's goal is to establish gene therapy as a new standard of care, aiming to restore vision and prevent blindness in patients with highly prevalent ocular diseases.
The information for this article is based on a press release statement from Adverum Biotechnologies.
In other recent news, Adverum Biotechnologies has been in the spotlight following RBC Capital Markets' decision to lower the company's share price target from $3.00 to $2.00. This adjustment was made in response to Adverum's fourth quarter and full-year 2023 financial report.
Notably, Adverum is anticipated to reveal full 6-month results from its LUNA study by mid-2024, and the commencement of a Phase III trial is planned for the first half of 2025. RBC Capital's analysis suggests potential improvements in treatment outcomes could be achieved by lowering doses and increasing steroid exposure.
However, despite these developments, RBC Capital maintains a cautious stance due to Adverum's past clinical challenges. The company has had five significant cases of inflammation and hypotony in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), and late inflammation was observed in earlier trials.
The revised price target reflects the recent financial results and the outcome of a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction. RBC Capital continues to monitor the situation closely, awaiting further evidence to alleviate the risks associated with Adverum's clinical developments.
These are the recent developments concerning Adverum Biotechnologies.
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