REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADVM), a clinical-stage company that aims to establish gene therapy as a new standard of care for highly prevalent ocular diseases, today announced that R. Andrew “Andy” Ramelmeier, Ph.D., has joined Adverum as the company’s chief technology officer. Dr. Ramelmeier will serve as a member of Adverum’s executive committee and will lead Adverum’s technology and operations organization, including process development and assay development for Adverum’s investigational gene therapy ixoberogene soroparvovec (Ixo-vec). Ixo-vec is currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 LUNA trial as a potential one-time intravitreal (IVT) injection for patients in the treatment of neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

“Andy’s deep experience across process and assay development and scale up of CMC, including transitioning and expanding viral vector gene therapy capabilities to global commercial scale and with the SF9 technology platform, will be critically important as we continue to execute on Ixo-vec’s clinical development and build out our pipeline,” stated Peter Soparkar, chief operating officer of Adverum Biotechnologies. “Ixo-vec has shown therapeutic aflibercept levels and stabilized vision in patients with wet AMD with a single IVT injection out to three years. With the Phase 2 LUNA trial fully enrolled, our manufacturing focus is on scale up for our future commercialization of Ixo-vec.”

“I am delighted to join Adverum to advance its proprietary AAV.7m8 vector capsid to address highly prevalent ocular diseases,” commented Dr. Ramelmeier. “Ixo-vec’s promising profile presents an opportunity to provide access to a potential functional cure and to reduce the treatment burden and cost for millions of patients with wet AMD worldwide. I look forward to applying my gene therapy manufacturing expertise to advance Ixo-vec towards pivotal trials and global commercialization.”

Dr. Ramelmeier has more than 30 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, gene and cell therapy products and therapeutic proteins. Most recently, Dr. Ramelmeier served as executive vice president, head of technical operations at Sangamo Therapeutics, where he was responsible for quality, process and analytical development, manufacturing and supply chain of viral vector and cell therapy pipeline products, as well as the oversight of two internal GMP facilities and multiple contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) /contract research organizations (CROs) for manufacturing and quality control (QC) activities. Prior to Sangamo, Dr. Ramelmeier served as senior vice president, technical operations at Portola Pharmaceuticals, responsible for the process development, technology transfer, manufacturing, and supply chain of small and large molecule pipeline products. Before that, Dr. Ramelmeier held positions of increasing responsibility at several companies, including BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Merck Research Laboratories.   Dr. Ramelmeier earned his B.E.S. in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley. He conducted post-doctoral work at The Institute of Enzyme Technology affiliated with the Heinrich-Heine-University of Dusseldorf.

Inducement Grant

On August 21, 2023, the company granted Dr. Ramelmeier a stock option to purchase 400,000 shares of Adverum’s common stock pursuant to the inducement grant exception under Nasdaq Rule 5635(c)(4), as an inducement that is material to his entering into employment with Adverum. The option has a per-share exercise price equal to the closing sales price of Adverum’s common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the grant date, and will vest over four years, subject to his continued service with Adverum.

About Adverum Biotechnologies

Adverum Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: ADVM) is a clinical-stage company that aims to establish gene therapy as a new standard of care for highly prevalent ocular diseases with the aspiration of developing functional cures to restore vision and prevent blindness. Leveraging the capabilities of its proprietary intravitreal (IVT) platform, Adverum is developing durable, single-administration therapies, designed to be delivered in physicians’ offices, to eliminate the need for frequent ocular injections to treat these diseases. Adverum is evaluating its novel gene therapy candidate, ixoberogene soroparvovec (Ixo-vec, formerly referred to as ADVM-022), as a one-time, IVT injection for patients with neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration. Additionally, by overcoming the challenges associated with current treatment paradigms for debilitating ocular diseases, Adverum aspires to transform the standard of care, preserve vision, and create a profound societal impact around the globe. For more information, please visit www.adverum.com.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding events or results that may occur in the future are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the potential benefits of Ixo-vec in the treatment of wet AMD, manufacturing scale up for future commercialization of Ixo-vec, and the advancement of Adverum’s proprietary AAV.7m8 vector capsid. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including risks inherent to, without limitation: Adverum’s novel technology, which makes it difficult to predict the timing of commencement and completion of clinical trials; regulatory uncertainties; enrollment uncertainties; the results of early clinical trials not always being predictive of future clinical trials and results; and the potential for future complications or side effects in connection with use of Ixo-vec. Additional risks and uncertainties facing Adverum are set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Adverum’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and reports, including Adverum’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 filed with the SEC on August 10, 2023. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Adverum undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Corporate, Investor and Media Inquiries
Anand Reddi
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Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc.
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