J. Jill Hopkins, M.D., Appointed as Chief
Medical Officer and President of Research & Development
Mark Plavsic, Ph.D., Appointed as Chief
Technology Officer
Aura Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: AURA), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company developing a novel class of virus-like drug
conjugate (VDC) therapies for multiple oncology indications, today
announced the appointments of Jill Hopkins, M.D., as Chief Medical
Officer, President of Research & Development, and Mark Plavsic,
Ph.D., as Chief Technology Officer. The Company also announced that
Cadmus Rich, M.D., will step down as Chief Medical Officer and
assume a new role with the Company as Senior Clinical Advisor.
“Jill and Mark’s appointments come at an important time in
Aura’s evolution as a late stage clinical development company,”
said Elisabet de los Pinos, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aura.
“We have built our leadership team with experienced industry
leaders who have proven track records of success with multiple drug
approvals. With bel-sar commencing in a global Phase 3 trial the
organization is now positioned for its next phase of growth, with
the goal of bringing the first vision-preserving targeted therapy
for patients with early-stage choroidal melanoma to market.”
Dr. de los Pinos added, “Cadmus has been a valued member of our
senior leadership team for the past five years, and on behalf of
the Board of Directors and our team, I want to thank him for his
many contributions. We are fortunate that he will remain with Aura
in an advisory capacity as his expertise will be instrumental to
the organization as we advance our pipeline to meaningful clinical
milestones. We wish him well as he moves on to his next
opportunity.”
Dr. Hopkins brings over 30 years of cross-sector experience in
ophthalmology, spanning clinical care, academia, education,
industry, advocacy and innovation. Prior to joining Aura, Dr.
Hopkins served as Senior Vice President, Global Head of
Ophthalmology and Exploratory Development at Novartis, and Chief
Executive Officer of Gyroscope Therapeutics, a Novartis company,
where she was responsible for the global ophthalmic pipeline and
portfolio of medicines, gene therapy, devices and digital solutions
to impact eye disease and reduce visual impairment globally.
Previously, Dr. Hopkins spent over a decade at Roche-Genentech in
roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Global Head
Ophthalmology Personalized Health Care. Before Roche-Genentech, she
spent over 20 years in clinical retinal research and academic
practice at the University of Toronto, University of Southern
California, and Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group. Dr.
Hopkins received her M.D. from McMaster University, and completed
her Ophthalmology residency at the University of Toronto. She has
completed fellowships in Retinal Disease from Moorfields Eye
Hospital in London UK and in Visual Electrophysiology from the
Universities of Toronto and Ottawa. Dr. Hopkins is board certified
in Ophthalmology from the American Board of Ophthalmology and the
Royal College of Surgeons Canada.
Dr. Plavsic brings 30 years of global biopharmaceutical
experience including end-to-end technical operations in the United
States, Europe, and Australasia and successful translation and
scale-up of complex biologics from preclinical development through
commercial launch and distribution. Previously, Dr. Plavsic served
as Chief Technology Officer at Fate Therapeutics, a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing a first-in-class
pipeline of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cellular
immunotherapies to patients with cancer and autoimmune disorders,
and was previously Chief Technical Officer at Lysogene, a
late-stage gene therapy company focused on the treatment of orphan
diseases of the central nervous system. Dr. Plavsic also spent over
10 years at Sanofi Genzyme in Technical Operations, where he was
head of product safety and global manufacturing process
improvement, and in Technology Development & Manufacturing,
where he was head of gene therapy development. Before joining
Sanofi Genzyme, Dr. Plavsic held various technical leadership
positions with AstraZeneca, Q-One Biotech, and Life Technologies.
Dr. Plavsic received his Ph.D. in Virology and Immunology and his
DVM from the University of Belgrade, and is board certified in
Microbiology, subspeciality Virology from the American College of
Veterinary Microbiologists, and Regulatory Affairs Certification
(RAC) credentialed.
About Aura Biosciences
Aura Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company
developing virus-like drug conjugates (VDCs), a novel class of
therapies, for the treatment of multiple oncology indications.
Aura’s lead VDC candidate, belzupacap sarotalocan (bel-sar;
AU-011), consists of a virus-like particle conjugated with an
anti-cancer agent. Bel-sar is designed to selectively target and
destroy cancer cells and activate the immune system with the
potential to create long-lasting, anti-tumor immunity. Bel-sar is
currently in development for ocular cancers, and Aura has initiated
activities for the global Phase 3 trial evaluating first-line
treatment of early-stage choroidal melanoma, a vision- and
life-threatening form of eye cancer where standard of care with
radiotherapy leaves patients with severe comorbidities, including
major vision loss. Aura plans to pursue development of bel-sar
across its ocular oncology franchise including for the treatment of
patients with choroidal metastasis. In addition, leveraging Aura’s
technology platform, Aura is developing bel-sar more broadly across
multiple cancers, including in patients with non-muscle invasive
bladder cancer. Aura is headquartered in Boston, MA.
For more information, visit aurabiosciences.com, or follow us on
Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended, and other federal securities laws. Any statements
that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward looking statements. Words such as “may,” “will,” “could”,
“should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “predicts,” “projects,” “seeks,” “endeavor,”
“potential,” “continue” or the negative of such words or other
similar expressions that can be used to identify forward-looking
statements. These forward looking statements include express or
implied statements regarding Aura’s future expectations, plans and
prospects, including, without limitation, statements regarding the
therapeutic potential of bel-sar for the treatment of cancers
including choroidal melanoma, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
and choroidal metastasis; any express or implied statements
regarding the Company’s expectations for the Phase 2 and Phase 3
clinical trials of bel-sar for early-stage choroidal melanoma and
the Phase 1 trial of bel-sar for non-muscle invasive bladder
cancer; and the potential approvability of bel-sar; the Phase 2
trial of bel-sar for choroidal metastasis.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither
promises nor guarantees, and investors should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of
which are beyond Aura’s control and which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
uncertainties inherent in clinical trials and in the availability
and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials; the expected
timing for submissions for regulatory approval or review by
governmental authorities; the risk that the results of Aura’s
clinical trials may not be predictive of future results in
connection with future clinical trials; the risk that interim data
from ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of final data
from completed clinical trials; the risk that governmental
authorities may disagree with Aura’s clinical trial designs;
whether Aura will receive regulatory approvals to conduct trials or
to market products; whether Aura’s cash resources will be
sufficient to fund its foreseeable and unforeseeable operating
expenses and capital expenditure requirements; Aura’s ongoing and
planned pre-clinical activities; and Aura’s ability to initiate,
enroll, conduct or complete ongoing and planned clinical trials.
These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include those risks
and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in
Aura’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in subsequent filings
made by Aura with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website
at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Aura disclaims any
intention or responsibility for updating or revising any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the
event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These
forward-looking statements are based on Aura’s current expectations
and speak only as of the date hereof and no representations or
warranties (express or implied) are made about the accuracy of any
such forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231002555723/en/
Investor and Media Contact:
Alex Dasalla Head of Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications adasalla@aurabiosciences.com
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