HOUSTON, Aug. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aravive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARAV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative therapeutics, today announced the appointment of three industry veterans to its leadership team: Randy Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Data Sciences, Elisabeth Gardiner, Ph.D., Vice President of Translational Medicine, and Patrick Simms, Vice President of Clinical Operations.
“It’s a privilege and a pleasure to welcome Dr. Anderson, Dr. Gardiner and Mr. Simms to Aravive’s leadership team, as they each bring considerable oncology drug development expertise and have a proven track record of advancing important medicines for patients living with cancer,” said Gail McIntyre, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aravive. “Each of them has a unique and vital perspective, which should be invaluable as we advance AVB-500 into a potential pivotal trial in platinum resistant ovarian cancer and initiate our Phase 1b/Phase 2 trial in clear cell renal cell carcinoma in the coming months. Aravive is poised and energized to move AVB-500 quickly through development to address the unmet needs of patients with ovarian and renal cancer.”
Randy Anderson, Ph.D., has more than three decades of experience as a statistical scientist and clinical strategist, focusing primarily on products to treat diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, and cancer. Prior to joining Aravive, he served as co-founder and Vice President at Captains Ventures, Inc., providing clinical development planning to multiple biotechnology companies, for products to treat type 1 diabetes or cancer. Before that, Dr. Anderson served as Senior Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Chiltern International. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Global Product Development at PPD, Inc.
Elisabeth Gardiner, Ph.D., is a biopharmaceutical professional with 17 years of experience conducting large- and small-molecule drug discoveries from the whiteboard to the clinic in a range of company settings. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Discovery Biology at Kinnate Biopharma, where she facilitated hit to lead and compound optimization work for multiple preclinical programs. Before Kinnate, she served as CSO of Meditope Biosciences, driving a novel antibody functionalization strategy for antibody-based therapeutics. Dr. Gardiner has contributed to and is responsible for multiple therapeutic candidates during her career. In addition to her professional work, Dr. Gardiner serves pro bono as a patient advocate in the rare disease and viral infection space.
Patrick Simms is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of experience. Before joining Aravive, he served as Vice President of Clinical Operations at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, where he worked with some of the most prolific research oncologists and research centers in the United States. During his career, he has contributed to numerous drug development programs and drug approvals in multiple therapeutic areas. Mr. Simms brings significant experience overseeing early- and late-stage clinical programs as well as regulatory affairs and has brought clinical programs from early-phase to NDA filing. His experience includes genomics-driven oncology studies, Phase 3 global registration studies, and studies in orphan disease populations.
About Aravive
Aravive, Inc. is a clinical-stage oncology company developing transformative therapeutics designed to halt the progression of life-threatening diseases. Aravive’s lead therapeutic, AVB-500, is an ultra-high affinity decoy protein that targets the GAS6-AXL signaling pathway associated with tumor cell growth. Aravive recently successfully completed a Phase 1b trial of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer and selected 15 mg/kg as the dose for the next potential pivotal trial. Analysis of all safety data to date showed that AVB-500 has been generally well-tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities or unexpected safety signals. While the Phase 1b trial of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer was a safety trial and not powered to demonstrate efficacy, all 5 patients in the 15 mg/kg cohort experienced clinical benefit, with 1 complete response, 2 partial responses, and 2 stable disease. The Company also intends to initiate a Phase 1b/Phase 2 trial of AVB-500 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma later this year. For more information, please visit www.aravive.com.
