AuraVax Therapeutics Appoints Two Healthcare Veterans to its Board of Directors

Industry veterans Thomas Finn and John Shiver PhD appointed to board

HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — AuraVax Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies to prevent and treat respiratory viruses, today announced that Thomas Finn and John Shiver have joined the company’s board of directors. They will serve with Laurence Cooper who is the chair of AuraVax’s board.

“I am delighted to welcome Tom and John to the Board. They join AuraVax at an exciting time as our lead product, NanoSTING-001, advances to clinical testing. Their combined R&D, business development and commercial experience will be invaluable to guide the company’s growth,” said Laurence Cooper

Thomas Finn is retired President of Procter & Gamble Global Health Care with three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical drug industry. He brings a wealth of knowledge on commercial development of new products and understanding of the varied customer segments. Prior to this role, Finn held executive management roles at P&G, including President of Global Personal Health Care & Global Pharmaceuticals, VP of NA Pharmaceuticals, Global Strategic Planning, and New Business Development, VP of Worldwide Strategic Planning and New Business Development, and GM of Pharmaceuticals. Finn serves as a Board member of Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center and is Chair of their Research Committee. He also serves as a Board member for Eikonoklastes Therapeutics, a Biotech company developing gene therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Finn received his BA in Economics from Hamilton College.

Dr. John Shiver has three decades of experience in vaccine research and development at Sanofi Pasteur and Merck & Co., Inc. He helped develop vaccine and antibodies to prevent and treat more than 40 infectious and non-infectious and contributed to the licensure of 14 products. Shiver is Chief Strategy Officer, leader of the scientific advisory board of IGM ID, a subsidiary of IGM Biosciences. Shiver also serves as a board member of Icosavax Inc and IAVI. Prior to IGM ID, he was the Global Head of Vaccines R&D and a member of the Executive Leadership team at Sanofi Pasteur. Shiver also serves as a board member of Icosavax Inc and IAVI Boards of Directors. Before Sanofi, Shiver led vaccine research at Merck and served in the experimental immunology branch of the National Institutes of Health. Shiver is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the International Society for Vaccines. He is the author of more than 150 articles in top-tier journals and is a co-author of 68 awarded patents.

“It is an honor to work with these three exceptional directors. The company will greatly benefit from their direction. Our lead therapeutic program is proceeding very well, and the preclinical data support broad use of intranasal NanoSTING-001 for the treatment of multiple respiratory viruses. We are looking forward to initiating our first-in-human studies and understanding the clinical benefits of loco-regional activation of the STING pathway,” said Joseph Sullivan, AuraVax’s CEO.

About AuraVax

AuraVax Therapeutics, Inc. (AuraVax) is a privately held biotechnology company commercializing a new platform termed “NanoSTING” to activate STING for the treatment and prevention of respiratory infections independent of the infecting virus. NanoSTING is a broad-acting, host-directed intranasal immune-antiviral to safely target the STING pathway and restore innate immunity for the prevention and treatment of respiratory disease as well as disrupt host-to-host transmission.

For more information about AuraVax, please visit: https://www.auravax.com/

For additional information about AuraVax, contact Joseph Sullivan at [email protected]; 267-421-9792.

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SOURCE AuraVax Therapeutics