Avid Bioservices Appoints Elie G. Hanania, Ph.D., as Vice President, Process Development, Viral Vector Technologies
November 04 2021 - 8:05AM
Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO), a dedicated biologics
contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) working
to improve patient lives by providing high quality development and
manufacturing services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies, today announced the appointment of Elie G. Hanania,
Ph.D., as vice president, process development, viral vector
technologies. Dr. Hanania is a seasoned life science industry
executive with more than 30 years of experience in the field of
cell and gene therapy. Avid recently announced the expansion of its
CDMO service offering into the rapidly growing cell and gene
therapy market and Dr. Hanania’s appointment represents a key
addition to the dedicated team that will be responsible for leading
the company’s efforts in this area.
Dr. Hanania has broad expertise across the cell
and gene therapy field that spans discovery, research, development,
viral vector manufacturing, and gene therapy clinical application.
This includes an established track record of success in developing
and implementing state-of-the-art enabling technologies for viral
vector production and purification processes focused on
adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), lentiviruses, oncolytic viruses
and other viruses for gene therapy and vaccine applications. Prior
to joining Avid, Dr. Hanania most recently served as director,
upstream process development for Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies,
where he led the process development team in charge of upstream
production of all viral vectors and therapeutic proteins. He has
also spent more than a decade in senior level process development
positions with Millipore Sigma, the life science business of Merck
KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, including several years as the company’s
head of process development. In this role, Dr. Hanania managed the
process development team responsible for viral vector upstream
production, downstream purification, tech-transfer to CGMP
manufacturing, and late-stage process characterization and
validation. These efforts were critical in supporting both clinical
and commercial manufacturing activities. Dr. Hanania began his
career as a research scientist in the hematology department at the
University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He earned a Ph.D.
in cell and molecular biology from the University of Texas Medical
Branch.
“As part of our strategic expansion into the
cell and gene therapy, we are committed to building an
industry-leading team of viral vector experts with established
track records of success in this cutting-edge field. Dr. Hanania is
the perfect representation of the type of exemplary individual that
we are seeking to build our viral vector team around,”
said Drew Brennan, general manager of viral vector
technologies of Avid Bioservices. “Dr. Hanania possesses all of the
essential expertise required for leading an innovative viral vector
process development service offering. Importantly, he has been
involved in this growing sector, working intimately with the
evolving science that has enabled its maturation, for multiple
decades. This unique level of experience will prove critical in
helping establish Avid as one of the CDMO industry’s most trusted
partners in the area of viral vectors.”
Avid’s expansion into viral vector development
and manufacturing is driven by continued strong growth in the cell
and gene therapy market combined with the CDMO industry’s overall
lack of proven, high-quality CGMP manufacturing expertise and
capacity for viral vectors. With more than 16 years of experience
in commercial manufacturing of biologics underpinned by a strong
quality ethos and a customer-centric approach to doing business,
Avid offers a strong value proposition to prospective customers in
the cell and gene therapy market.
The company is constructing a world-class,
purpose-built 53,000 sq. ft. viral vector development and CGMP
manufacturing facility in Costa Mesa, CA, approximately five miles
from Avid’s existing operations in Tustin, CA. Based on current
projections, Avid expects the entire new facility build out to take
up to 18 months at an estimated cost of approximately $75 million.
The new facility’s analytical and process development laboratories
are expected to come online more rapidly, with the potential to be
operational during the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
About Avid
Bioservices, Inc.
Avid Bioservices (NASDAQ:CDMO), an S&P
SmallCap 600 company, is a dedicated contract development and
manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on development and CGMP
manufacturing of biologics. The company provides a comprehensive
range of process development, CGMP clinical and commercial
manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical
industries. With 28 years of experience producing monoclonal
antibodies and recombinant proteins, Avid's services include CGMP
clinical and commercial drug substance manufacturing, bulk
packaging, release and stability testing and regulatory submissions
support. For early-stage programs the company provides a variety of
process development activities, including upstream and downstream
development and optimization, analytical methods development,
testing and characterization. The scope of our services ranges
from standalone process development projects to full development
and manufacturing programs through commercialization.
www.avidbio.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release which are not
purely historical, including statements regarding Avid Bioservices,
Inc.'s intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations,
projections, plans or predictions of the future, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not
limited to, the risk that the company may experience delays in the
construction of viral vector facility, the risk that expanding into
a new biologics manufacturing segment may distract senior
management’s focus on the company’s existing operations and/or its
current expansion of the Myford facility, the risk that the company
may experience delays in hiring qualified individuals into the
viral vector business, the risk that the company may experience
delays in engaging initial customers for the viral vector business,
and the risk that the viral vector business may not become
profitable for several years, if ever. Our business could be
affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors
listed from time to time in our reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission including, but not
limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended April 30, 2021 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form
10-Q, as well as any updates to these risk factors filed from time
to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and we
disclaim any obligation, and do not undertake, to update or revise
any forward-looking statements in this press release except as may
be required by law.
Contacts:
Stephanie Diaz (Investors)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7401
sdiaz@vidasp.com
Tim Brons (Media)
Vida Strategic Partners
415-675-7402
tbrons@vidasp.com
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