ViaNautis Bio appoints Dr Steven M. Altschuler as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Co-Founder of Spark Therapeutics with over 20 years of industry experience to support ViaNautis Bio in its next stage of development
Cambridge UK, 30 April 2024 – ViaNautis Bio (“ViaNautis” or the “Company”), a groundbreaking nanomedicine company at the forefront of genetic therapies, today announces the appointment of Dr Steven M. Altschuler as independent Chairman to its Board of Directors. Dr Altschuler is a renowned biotech company founder, director and board leader with proven experience in successfully leading and supporting organisations focused on genetic therapies and drug delivery systems.
Dr Altschuler currently serves as Managing Director-Healthcare Ventures at Ziff Capital Partners where he co-leads the firm’s investment into companies with potentially transformative technologies that emphasize cellular and molecular approaches to human disease. He developed this expertise while co-founding Spark Therapeutics to develop and commercialize preclinical and clinical gene therapy programmes. He served as Spark’s Chairman from its founding in 2013 through to its acquisition by Roche in 2019 for $4.8 billion. During his tenure, the company launched LUXTURNA®, the first gene therapy for an inherited disease approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Prior to Spark, he was President and CEO of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for 15 years.
Dr Altschuler is a member of the Board of Directors of Port Therapeutics, Avista Therapeutics, Azura Ophthalmics, Corner Therapeutics and 89Bio. In addition he has recently launched start up, Corner Therapeutics Inc, developing low cost immunotherapies.
He holds a BA in Mathematics and Statistics and an MD from Case Western Reserve University, USA.
ViaNautis Bio raised $25 million in a Series A round in November 2023 led by 4BIO Capital, BGF, and UCB Ventures with participation from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Eli Lilly and Company and existing investors including Origin Capital, Meltwind and O2H.
Dr Francesca Crawford, CEO of ViaNautis, commented: "Attracting someone of Steven’s calibre to lead ViaNautis Bio’s Board is testament to the potential of our polyNaut® platform to create the genetic medicines of the future. It is rare to find someone of Steven’s deep experience, who has not only taken a gene therapy from concept to commercialisation, but also been a revered treating physician. We are delighted to welcome him to the Company and his unique insight will be invaluable to us as we take the next important steps in our development.”
Dr Steven M. Altschuler, Chairman of ViaNautis, commented: “ViaNautis Bio’s polyNaut® technology has the potential to become a game changer in the story of genetic therapies. It can be formulated to encapsulate a wide array of genetic cargoes, with sizes exceeding current standards for viral and non-viral delivery and therefore tackles the challenge of transporting genetic materials across biological barriers, allowing us to unlock treatments for conditions with significant unmet clinical need. I very much look forward to working with ViaNautis team and Board to realise the potential of this exciting technology.”
Owen Smith, Partner, 4BIO Capital, added: “On behalf of the ViaNautis Bio Board I am delighted to welcome Steven. Ensuring young companies can access the vast experience and learnings from industry leading experts such as Steven, is a vital element in building a successful company. We very much look forward to working with him.”
*ENDS*
For further information on the company please visit www.vianautis.com or contact:
ViaNautis:
Dr Fran Crawford, CEO
Email: fecrawford@vianautis.com
ICR Consilium:
Amber Fennell, Namrata Taak, Kris Lam
Email: vianautis@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About ViaNautis
ViaNautis, formerly known as SomaServe, was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from UCL under the leadership of CEO and serial entrepreneur, Dr Francesca Crawford. The company’s core mission is to exploit the unique capabilities of the revolutionary polyNaut® technology.
PolyNaut® is a versatile nano-engineered polymer technology designed for targeted intracellular delivery. This innovative technology enables polymer nanoparticles to deliver a wide range of payloads from small molecules to genetic materials creating 'a bionic nanoparticle.' The highly adaptable polymer structure of polyNaut® can be formulated to encapsulate a wide array of genetic cargoes, with sizes exceeding current standards for viral and non-viral delivery. Notably, it enhances the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated molecules through direct delivery to the cell cytoplasm, facilitated by GOTO® technology for intracellular shuttling.
PolyNaut® is set apart from conventional non-viral delivery technologies through its remarkable ability to target specific cells and penetrate biological barriers, including the challenging blood-brain barrier. PolyNaut® nanoparticles, when functionalised for CNS delivery through transcytosis, exhibit exceptional brain uptake.
Deploying its state-of-the-art polyNaut® platform, ViaNautis is at the forefront of pioneering new therapies for CNS diseases and cystic fibrosis. The company is actively building an internal pipeline and collaborating with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies to unlock the potential of promising genetic molecules as well as new therapeutic platforms.
For more information, connect with us on https://www.linkedin.com/company/vianautis/ and visit www.vianautis.com.
