SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., an oncology company focused on developing and commercializing primary allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies to treat cancer, today announced the appointment of Elizabeth L. Hougen and Linda M. Kozick as independent members of the Company’s board of directors.
“I am excited to have Beth and Linda join Artiva’s Board of Directors,” said Fred Aslan, M.D., CEO of Artiva. “At Ionis, Beth has spent more than 20 years, the last seven as its CFO, successfully navigating the challenges and opportunities of bringing transformational medicines to patients, and Linda has substantial strategic oncology experience maximizing the real-world impact of promising investigational therapies in oncology.”
“I am pleased to welcome Linda and Beth to our board as we build an experienced team of experts and mentors to help Artiva deliver on its mission to deliver highly effective, off-the-shelf, allogeneic, NK cell-based therapies that are safe and accessible to cancer patients,” stated Brian Daniels, M.D., Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Artiva.
“The opportunity to join the Board of Artiva was one that I could not pass up,” said Ms. Hougen. “I look forward to applying my strategic financial and global management experience to help the company achieve its ambitious goal of bringing important medicines to cancer patients.”
“I’m excited to be part of Artiva’s Board and look forward to partnering with management going forward,” said Ms. Kozick. “I was very impressed with the company’s strong capabilities in the development and manufacturing of off-the-shelf NK cell therapies and its potential to provide important therapeutic options in several areas of unmet need in oncology.”
Elizabeth L. Hougen has more than 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and currently serves as Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ms. Hougen joined Ionis in May 2000 as Vice President, Finance, became Chief Accounting Officer in January 2007, and CFO in January 2013. Prior to joining Ionis, she was Chief Financial Officer for Molecular Biosystems, Inc., a public biotechnology company. Ms. Hougen received her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and an MBA from the University of San Diego.
Linda M. Kozick has more than 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including 15 years of strategic commercial leadership in oncology with a focus in immuno-oncology. She retired from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) as Vice President and Head of Immuno-Oncology/Oncology Product and Portfolio Strategy and Opdivo and Yervoy Life Cycle Management. Prior to that role, Ms. Kozick was the commercial lead for Opdivo (nivolumab) and was instrumental in helping BMS develop its clinical and commercial strategy for immunology-oncology (I-O), which included combinations with BMS I-O assets and acquisition of external molecules. She currently serves on the boards of directors for Rapt Therapeutics, Inc. and Saugatuck Therapeutics Ltd. Ms. Kozick received her B.S. in Medical Technology and M.S. in Molecular Immunology from SUNY Upstate Medical Center, and her MBA from Chapman University.
About Artiva Biotherapeutics
Artiva’s mission is to deliver highly effective, off-the-shelf, allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies that are safe and accessible to cancer patients. Artiva’s pipeline includes AB-101, an ADCC enhancer NK-cell therapy for use in combination with monoclonal antibodies or innate-cell engagers. The company is currently advancing a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AB-101 in combination with rituximab for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphomas. The company’s CAR-NK programs include AB-201, a novel HER2-specific CAR-NK cell therapy for the treatment of HER2+ solid tumors, and AB-202, a CD19-specific CAR-NK cell therapy for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, which are being developed under Artiva’s master license and option agreement with GC LabCell Corporation, with plans to enter clinical trials in 2022. The company has entered into therapeutic NK cell collaborations and/or license agreements with Merck and with Affimed N.V. Artiva’s AlloNK™ platform incorporates cell expansion, activation, and engineering technology developed by the company’s corporate partner, GC LabCell, a member of the GC family of companies, one of the Republic of Korea’s leading biopharmaceutical groups. Artiva is headquartered in San Diego. For additional information about Artiva Biotherapeutics, please visit www.artivabio.com.
