ViaNautis Bio appoints Dr Steven M. Altschuler as Chairman of its Board of Directors
April 30 2024 - 7:00AM
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
LamEmail: vianautis@consilium-comms.comTel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About ViaNautisViaNautis,
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.