MENLO PARK, Cali., April 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADVM), a clinical-stage gene therapy company targeting unmet medical needs in ocular and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Aaron Osborne, MBBS MRCOphth as chief medical officer, effective immediately. Dr. Osborne will serve as a member of the Adverum leadership team and will report to Leone Patterson, chief executive officer of Adverum.
“Aaron brings to Adverum extensive experience in clinical practice, drug development and global medical affairs. He has been at the forefront of many exciting therapeutic developments for patients in the field of ophthalmology,” said Leone Patterson, chief executive officer of Adverum Biotechnologies. “His expertise will be very valuable as we advance ADVM-022, our unique intravitreally delivered gene therapy, in an ongoing clinical trial for wet AMD and extend our clinical development plans into additional ocular VEGF-related indications. We are delighted to have him join the team.”
“It is an exciting time to join Adverum,” said Aaron Osborne, chief medical officer of Adverum Biotechnologies. “With the OPTIC phase 1 trial underway, coupled with a growing body of preclinical research on this novel gene therapy, ADVM-022 has a truly unique opportunity to potentially transform the current paradigm and improve vision outcomes while alleviating treatment burden for people living with wet AMD. Additionally, with Adverum’s industry-leading AAV platform and expertise in developing next-generation vectors, I look forward to expanding the clinical pipeline in the future. I am thrilled to be part of this team as we aim to develop novel therapeutic options to improve the lives of patients.”
Dr. Osborne has over twelve years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry together with five years of clinical practice in the British National Health Service (NHS) as an ophthalmologist. He brings significant expertise in clinical development and broad relationships across the ophthalmic community. Dr. Osborne joins Adverum from Genentech, where he served as principal medical director in product development and global development leader for faricimab, guiding the design and execution of Phase II and Phase III studies in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME), respectively. Previously, Dr. Osborne served as global medical affairs pharmaceuticals franchise head at Alcon. He served as head of global medical affairs for ophthalmic programs at Novartis, where he led the medical oversight of Lucentis’ late-stage development and post-marketing studies, achieving worldwide regulatory approvals and patient access in wet AMD, DME, retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV). Dr. Osborne trained in ophthalmology at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, and earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree at University College London.
On the date Dr. Osborne commenced his employment, Adverum granted Dr. Osborne a stock option to purchase 450,000 shares of Adverum common stock pursuant to the inducement grant exception under Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4), as an inducement material to Dr. Osborne entering employment with Adverum. The option has a per share exercise price equal to the closing sales price of Adverum’s common stock on Nasdaq on the grant date, and will vest over four years, subject to his continued service with Adverum.
About Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc.
Adverum is a clinical-stage gene therapy company targeting unmet medical needs in ocular and rare diseases. Adverum develops gene therapy product candidates designed to provide durable efficacy by inducing sustained expression of a therapeutic protein. As a leader in ophthalmic gene therapy, Adverum has collaboration agreements with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Editas Medicine. Adverum’s core capabilities include clinical development, novel vector discovery and in-house manufacturing expertise, specifically in scalable process development, assay development, and current Good Manufacturing Practices quality control. For more information, please visit www.adverum.com.