SEATTLE, Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Icosavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICVX), a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its innovative virus-like particle (VLP) platform technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, today announced the appointment of John Shiver, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Shiver has more than 30 years of experience in vaccine and pharmaceutical research and development, including at two of the most prominent vaccine companies in the world, Sanofi Pasteur and Merck & Co., Inc. He has guided scientific teams to create novel vaccine and monoclonal antibody candidates to prevent or treat more than 40 infectious and non-infectious diseases, including RSV, influenza, pneumococcus, CMV, HIV, HPV, cancer, and asthma, and contributed to the licensure of 14 products.
“I am pleased to welcome John to our Board during an important time in Icosavax’s continued growth as we work to advance clinical development of our RSV and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates based on our VLP platform technology,” said Adam Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of Icosavax. “John’s extensive experience in successfully advancing products to market from novel platform technologies as well as his deep understanding of infectious diseases will be invaluable as Icosavax works to progress its vision of a multivalent VLP vaccine targeting the viral causes of pneumonia in older adults.”
“Naturally occurring virus-like particles have been successfully harnessed for effective vaccines, but constructing and manufacturing VLPs displaying complex antigens has been a major hurdle,” said Dr. Shiver. “That’s why Icosavax’s VLP platform technology is so interesting as it enables the creation of precision-designed VLP vaccine candidates for complex antigens, like RSV, as well as multivalent vaccine candidates with the potential to protect against two or more respiratory diseases and streamline vaccine regimens. I look forward to providing my expertise and working closely with Icosavax’s leadership team and Board to advance the company’s VLP technology against life-threatening respiratory diseases.”
Currently, Dr. Shiver is Chief Strategy Officer, leader of the scientific advisory board, and member of the Board of Directors at IGM ID, a wholly owned subsidiary of IGM Biosciences. Prior to IGM ID, he was the Global Head of Vaccines R&D and a member of the Executive Leadership team at Sanofi Pasteur, the largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines. While at Sanofi, Dr. Shiver championed three major collaborations and an acquisition, including Sanofi’s collaboration with Translate Bio for access to the company’s mRNA platform, its alliance with MedImmune (now AstraZeneca) for nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody being developed for the prevention of RSV in infants, and its acquisition of Protein Sciences Corporation, which developed and commercialized a recombinant protein-based influenza vaccine. Prior to Sanofi, Dr. Shiver led vaccine research at Merck and served in the experimental immunology branch of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Shiver is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the International Society for Vaccines. He is the author of more than 150 articles in top-tier journals and is a co-author of 68 awarded patents.
About Icosavax
Icosavax is a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its innovative VLP platform technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, with an initial focus on life-threatening respiratory diseases. Icosavax’s VLP platform technology is designed to enable multivalent, particle-based display of complex viral antigens, which it believes will induce broad, robust, and durable protection against the specific viruses targeted. Icosavax’s pipeline includes vaccine candidates targeting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Icosavax was formed in 2017 to advance the breakthrough VLP technology from the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington with the goal to discover, develop, and commercialize vaccines against infectious diseases. Icosavax exclusively licensed the VLP technology for use in several fields, including RSV and hMPV, from the University of Washington. For SARS-CoV-2, Icosavax has a non-exclusive, worldwide (excluding South Korea) license from the University of Washington that will convert to an exclusive license in North America and Europe in 2025. Icosavax is located in Seattle. For more information, visit www.icosavax.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and include, but are not limited to: our goal to progress our clinical candidates including our RSV and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in clinical development and the potential of our VLP technology to create differentiated vaccine candidates for complex antigens and multivalent vaccine candidates with the potential to protect against two or more respiratory diseases and streamline vaccine regimens. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: the early stage of our development efforts; our approach to the discovery and development of vaccine candidates, which is a novel and unproven approach; potential delays in the commencement, enrollment, and completion of clinical trials; the inherent difficulty and uncertainty of vaccine development including the possibility that vaccine candidates that appear promising in non-clinical testing could fail in clinical trials; and other risks described in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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