AviadoBio Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Board
Includes prominent international scientific and clinical pioneers across neurodegeneration research, neurosurgical drug delivery and neurological gene therapy
SAB will provide expert insight and guidance as the Company progresses its pipeline of gene therapies targeting devastating neurodegenerative diseases such as Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
London, UK, May 12, 2022 — AviadoBio, a pioneering, pre-clinical stage, gene therapy company focused on developing and delivering transformative medicines for people with neurodegenerative disorders, announces that it has established a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprising world-leading experts in neurodegenerative diseases, neurosurgical drug delivery and gene therapy development.
The newly formed SAB will provide expert guidance to AviadoBio on its current and future research and development strategy, which involves the progression of its lead program in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) into the clinic, advancing the Company’s preclinical pipeline, including for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and building out the Company’s nervous system targeted delivery platforms.
The SAB will be led by Co-founder Prof. Chris Shaw, who currently serves as Chief Scientific and Clinical Advisor and developed AviadoBio’s technology in his laboratory at King’s College London, with the support of the UK Dementia Research Institute. Chris is a world-renowned Neurologist and Neuroscientist, who brings a deep understanding of brain architecture and disease pathogenesis and is driven by a career-long goal of delivering effective treatments to his patients.
Lisa Deschamps, CEO of AviadoBio, said: "Attracting such an esteemed and diverse group of neurodegenerative disease, neurosurgery and gene therapy experts to the AviadoBio team is a testament to the strength of our differentiated approach. Each member of the SAB brings unrivalled scientific expertise and in-depth knowledge that will be particularly invaluable as we progress our lead program for FTD into the clinic later this year.”
Professor Chris Shaw, commented: “I am delighted to Chair AviadoBio’s Scientific Advisory Board, which includes world-leading experts in their respective fields. The first therapies we are developing address unmet needs of people affected by FTD and ALS. These are devastating diseases with no approved treatments, and I look forward to working with the Board to advise the AviadoBio team in their drive to develop novel therapies capable of transforming the lives of patients and families.”
The AviadoBio SAB members are as follows:
- Professor Chris Shaw MBChB, MD, Co-founder AviadoBio and Professor of Neurology and Neurogenetics, King’s College London, UK
- Professor Krystof Bankiewicz MD, PhD, Tenured Professor, Vice Chair of Research, Director, Brain Health and Performance Center, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery
- Professor Don Cleveland PhD, Professor of Medicine, Neurosciences, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Ludwig Cancer Research, University of California, San Diego, USA
- Professor Jonathan Rohrer MBBS, PhD, Professor of Neurology, UCL, London, UK
- Professor Steven Gill MD, Chief Medical Officer, Neurochase Ltd and Hon. Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Bristol, UK
- Professor Merit Cudkowicz MD, MSc, Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School Chief, Neurology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital Director, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tenured Professor, Vice Chair of Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery
- Assistant Professor Heather Gray-Edwards DVM, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology at UMMS, member of the Horae Gene Therapy Center
- Professor Christian Haass PhD, Professor of Biochemistry Ludwig-Maximilians, University Munich, Germany
- Omar Khwaja MD PhD, Chief Medical Officer, VectivBio AG
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About AviadoBio
At AviadoBio, our mission is to transform the lives of people living with neurodegenerative disorders by developing and delivering transformative gene therapies for diseases including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Company’s technology is based on pioneering research from King’s College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute. AviadoBio’s unique platform combines next-generation gene therapy design with deep neuroscience expertise and a novel neuroanatomy-led approach to drug delivery. AviadoBio’s investors include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Monograph Capital, Advent Life Sciences, EQT Lifesciences, Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), F-Prime Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), and LifeArc.
The company is developing AVB-101 for patients with FTD-GRN. AVB-101 is an investigational AAV gene therapy designed to slow or stop disease progression by delivering a functional copy of the GRN gene throughout the central nervous system to restore progranulin levels.
For more information, please visit www.aviadobio.com and follow us at Twitter @AviadoBio and LinkedIn AviadoBio.
About Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and FTD with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN)
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is of the second most common form of dementia in people under the age of 65 after Alzheimer’s disease. It affects 50,000 to 60,000 patients in the U.S. and over 100,000 in the E.U. Approximately one third of FTD cases are familial and linked to autosomal dominant mutations in three genes including the granulin gene (GRN) and FTD-GRN represents 5-10% of all patients with FTD. Progressive degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain is characteristic of FTD, and is associated with progressive decline of behaviour, decision-making, language and emotion, typically leading to death within 7-10 years of diagnosis. There are currently no approved treatments to stop or slow the progression of FTD or FTD-GRN.
Contact:
For media enquiries:
Consilium Strategic Communications
Chris Gardner, Angela Gray, Sukaina Virji
+44 (0) 20 3709 5700
AviadoBio@consilium-comms.com
References:
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- Hogan DB, et al. Can J Neurol Sci. 2016;43 Suppl 1:S96-S109
- Olney NT, et al. Neurol Clin. 2017;35(2): 339–374
- Greaves CV, et al. J Neurol. 2019;266(8):2075–2086
