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Adverum Biotechnologies

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Adverum Biotechnologies
Company typePublic
NasdaqADVM
Russell 2000 Component
Industry
  • Biotechnology
  • Gene Therapy
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Founders
HeadquartersRedwood City, California
Key people
Number of employees
100
Websiteadverum.com

Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc., formerly known as Avalanche Biotechnologies,[2] is a publicly traded[3] clinical stage gene therapy company located in Redwood City, California.[4] The company is targeting unmet medical needs for serious ocular and rare diseases, including wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).[5]

History

[edit]

Avalanche Biotechnologies was founded in 2006 by Tom Chalberg, Mark Blumenkranz, Mitchell Finer, and Steven Schwartz.[citation needed] Avalanche went public through an IPO in 2014, raising $102 million.[6]

In 2015, co-founder Tom Chalberg stepped down as CEO following Phase IIa trial results that were labeled as "iffy".[7]

In May 2016, Avalanche acquired Annapurna Therapeutics and changed its name to Adverum Biotechnologies.[8] It also changed its ticker symbol on the Nasdaq exchange from AAVL to ADVM.[8] In October 2016, former Annapurna Therapeutics CEO Amber Salzman became CEO of Adverum.[9]

In May 2018, CEO Amber Salzman left Adverum, and Chief Medical Officer Athena Countouriotis resigned after less than one year in the job.[10] In October 2018, Leone Patterson was named the new CEO of Adverum.[11]

In September 2019, Adverum announced six-month data from the first cohort of its phase I trial.[12] The stock price dropped 50% due to investor concerns over deterioration of vision that these trial subjects suffered, as well as several reports of occular inflammation.[12]

In June 2020, Laurent Fischer replaced Patterson as CEO of Adverum.[13]

In January 2022, the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to Adverum's ADVM-062, developed as a single intravitreal administration for blue-cone monochromacy by delivering a functional copy of the OPN1LW gene.[14]

In September 2022, Adverum announced that its first patient was dosed in the LUNA phase 2 clinical trial; the trial evaluates development for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Our Leadership Team". Adverum Biotechnologies. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Adverum delays start of gene therapy PhI/II by one year, blames manufacturing". FierceBiotech. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  3. ^ "Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc (AAVL)". NASDAQ.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Adverum Biotechnologies Moves to New Headquarters and Expands Laboratory Space in Redwood City, CA". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  5. ^ "ADVM-022 Intravitreal Gene Therapy for Wet AMD - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov". clinicaltrials.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  6. ^ Garde, Damian (2014-07-31). "Gene therapy biotech Avalanche banks $102M in an up-sized IPO". FierceBiotech. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  7. ^ Leuty, Ron (2015-07-27). "As CEO exits, gene therapy company continues tumble". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  8. ^ a b "Avalanche Biotechnologies Closes Transaction With Annapurna Therapeutics and Changes Name to Adverum Biotechnologies". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  9. ^ "Post-merger, gene therapy player Adverum makes Amber Salzman CEO, delays a clinical trial start". Endpoints News. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  10. ^ Taylor, Nick Paul (2018-05-04). "Adverum loses CEO, CMO in quick-fire departures". FierceBiotech. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  11. ^ "Adverum CEO Leone Patterson leaves her post | exechange". exechange.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  12. ^ a b "Adverum cannot hide under an avalanche of concerns". Evaluate.com. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  13. ^ "Adverum Biotechnologies Announces Leadership Transition". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  14. ^ David Hutton (January 6, 2022). "Adverum Biotechnologies gets Orphan Drug Designation from FDA for gene therapy candidate". Ophthalmology Times.
  15. ^ David Hutton (September 16, 2022). "Adverum Biotechnologies announces first subject dosed with Ixo-vec in the Phase 2 LUNA trial for treatment of wet AMD". Ophthalmology Times.
  16. ^ Noah Stansfield (September 16, 2022). "First Patient Dosed in Wet AMD Gene Therapy LUNA Trial". CGTlive.