ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Altesa BioSciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel anti-viral drugs against common respiratory viruses and global viral threats, today announced the inaugural members of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB comprises leading academic and industry leaders in pulmonology, infectious diseases, virology, pediatrics and drug development.
“We are excited to have so rapidly assembled this stellar, multi-disciplinary team of internationally-renowned experts to assist in accelerating Altesa’s potentially life-saving pipeline of drugs into the hands of patients and physicians,” said Brett Giroir, M.D., CEO of Altesa and former United States Assistant Secretary for Health. “This SAB possesses the experience and vision to assist in advancing our first clinical-stage drug, Vapendavir, into advanced clinical trials to improve the lives of patients living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”
The inaugural members of the Altesa Biosciences SAB (bio details here) include:
George Painter, Ph.D. (SAB Chair) is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine, CEO of Drug Innovation Ventures at Emory (DRIVE), and Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development. Most recently, Dr. Painter was the inventor of Molnupiravir, a FDA-authorized oral anti-viral drug to treat COVID-19 and he led the Emory research team that developed the now widely used HIV drug, Emtriva. Dr. Painter is a co-founder of Altesa.
MeiLan K. Han, MD, MS is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Michigan. Dr. Han is a national leader in defining phenotypes of COPD patients using imaging, and she is a lead investigator for several NIH sponsored COPD studies.
James F. Donohue, MD is a former Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Previously, Dr. Donohue served as the Director of the Clinical Group Pulmonary Diseases and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary Diseases & Critical Care Medicine.
Richard Whitley, MD most recently served on the Board of Directors of Gilead Sciences, Inc., as well as the NIH/NIAID Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) responsible for the safety, integrity and scientific validity of all NIH-funded COVID-19 vaccine trials in the U.S. Dr. Whitley is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Microbiology, Medicine and Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Dennis Liotta, Ph.D. serves as Executive Director of the Emory Institute for Drug Development and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Emory University. Recognized as one of the premier discoverers of novel therapeutics in the U.S., Dr. Liotta is the inventor of record for several clinically important antivirals, associated with the invention of 10 FDA approved therapeutics and a leader of the Emory team that discovered Emtriva. Dr. Liotta is also a co-founder of Altesa.
About Altesa
Altesa BioSciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company based in Atlanta, GA focused on developing antivirals to addresses diseases of global importance. Altesa has a formal partnership with DRIVE a wholly-owned, not-for-profit drug discovery entity within Emory University. That collaboration includes a license to ALT-2023, a broadly active nucleoside analogue that is in late-stage preclinical development, as well as options to additional compounds addressing RNA viruses. In July 2021, Altesa in-licensed Vapendavir, a Phase 2 antiviral broadly active against enteroviruses, including rhinovirus, from Vaxart. Altesa intends to progress Vapendavir into Phase 2b trial in the coming months for treatment of rhinovirus in at-risk populations. www.altesabio.com
