ADVM - Adverum Biotechnologies Announces Appointments of Dr. Rabia Gurses Ozden as Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Szilárd Kiss as a Member of the Board of Directors | Benzinga
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADVM), a clinical-stage company pioneering the use of gene therapy as a new standard of care for highly prevalent ocular diseases, today announced the appointments of Dr. Rabia Gurses Ozden to the Company's executive leadership team as chief medical officer and Dr. Szilárd Kiss to the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Ozden has stepped down from the Company's Board of Directors, with Dr. Kiss filling the existing Board seat.
"Adverum has made significant progress in demonstrating Ixo-vec's potential best-in-class profile for patients with wet AMD. As we advance Ixo-vec through the LUNA trial and towards pivotal studies, we will greatly benefit from the significant expertise of both Dr. Ozden and Dr. Kiss," stated Laurent Fischer, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Adverum Biotechnologies. "Dr. Ozden is a pioneer in advancing the clinical development of novel therapies including AAV gene therapies and innovative pivotal trial designs for ocular diseases. Her guidance as a Board member has been invaluable, and we look forward to working closely with her in her operating role as chief medical officer. Dr. Kiss is a world renowned retina specialist with a focus on ocular gene therapy, and his expertise will complement our accomplished group of Board members. We have benefitted from Dr. Kiss' experience as a long-time scientific and clinical advisor to Adverum and he will continue to bring a valued perspective in this new role on our Board of Directors."
"I am thrilled to join the executive and clinical teams at Adverum and look forward to supporting the clinical development of Ixo-vec through pivotal studies," said Dr. Ozden. "Based on the long-term safety and efficacy results from the OPTIC study and the promising profile emerging from LUNA, I believe Ixo-vec has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm by offering a potential lifelong solution to preserve sight for patients with wet AMD."
"Compliance with the current standard of care for wet AMD, frequent eye injections, is a burden for patients and caregivers, often leading to undertreatment of this disease and vision loss. As a practicing physician with experience across multiple ocular gene therapy programs, I believe in the potential for gene therapy to deliver sustained levels of anti-VEGF at ...