Astria Therapeutics Appoints Sunil Agarwal to Its Board of Directors

Rhea-AI Summary

Astria Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATXS) appoints Dr. Sunil Agarwal, a seasoned biotechnology expert, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Agarwal brings over 20 years of experience in drug development and clinical expertise. His appointment aims to advance the company's programs, particularly STAR-0215, targeting hereditary angioedema.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Astria Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATXS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing therapies for allergic and immunological diseases, today announced the appointment of Sunil Agarwal, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Agarwal has more than 20 years of biotechnology research, development, and commercialization experience.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Sunil to our Board of Directors,” said Jill C. Milne, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Astria Therapeutics. “His extensive drug development and clinical expertise strongly complements our Board’s skills and experiences, and we look forward to his contributions as we continue to advance our programs into later-stage clinical development with the goal of STAR-0215 becoming the market leader in hereditary angioedema.”

“I am excited to join the Board at Astria at this important stage as the organization prepares for Phase 3 development of STAR-0215,” said Dr. Agarwal. “STAR-0215 has the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients and I look forward to contributing to its progress at this exciting time.”

Dr. Agarwal currently serves on the Board of Directors of Arvinas and was previously a Board member of Calithera Biosciences, MyoKardia, and Vitrisa Therapeutics. Throughout his career, Dr. Agarwal has served in leadership and executive roles in the biopharmaceutical industry. He most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Sana Biotechnology and, prior to that, as President of Research and Development at Juno Therapeutics until its acquisition by Celgene. At Ultragenyx he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer and at Genentech as Senior Vice President and Global Development Head. He has led global approvals across multiple indications for Rituxan, Actemra, Xolair, Lucentis, Ocrevus, Mepsevii, Breyanzi, and Gliadel. Dr. Agarwal holds a B.S. in neurobiology from Cornell University and earned his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC), Washington, D.C., and practiced in the CNMC Pediatric Emergency Department.

About Astria Therapeutics:

Astria Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company, and our mission is to bring life-changing therapies to patients and families affected by allergic and immunological diseases. Our lead program, STAR-0215, is a monoclonal antibody inhibitor of plasma kallikrein in clinical development for the treatment of hereditary angioedema. Our second program, STAR-0310, is a monoclonal antibody OX40 antagonist in preclinical development for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Learn more about our company on our website, www.astriatx.com, or follow us on X and Instagram @AstriaTx and on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations including, but not limited to, statements regarding: progressing our programs into later stage clinical development; the potential of STAR-0215 becoming a market leader in hereditary angioedema (HAE) and its potential to improve the lives of HAE patients; and our corporate strategy and vision, including our goal to bring life-changing therapies to patients and families affected by allergic and immunological diseases. The use of words such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goals,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or "vision," and similar words expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on Astria’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its business, future plans and strategies, future financial performance, results of pre-clinical and clinical results of the Astria’s product candidates and other future conditions. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risks and uncertainties related to: changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; risks inherent in pharmaceutical research and development, such as: adverse results in our drug discovery, preclinical and clinical development activities, the risk that the results of preclinical studies may not be replicated in clinical trials, that the preliminary, initial or interim results from clinical trials may not be indicative of the final results, that the results of early stage clinical trials, such as the initial results from the ALPHA-STAR Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, may not be replicated in later stage clinical trials, the risk that we may not be able to enroll sufficient patients in our clinical trials on a timely basis, and the risk that any of our clinical trials may not commence, continue or be completed on time, or at all; decisions made by, and feedback received from, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities on our regulatory and clinical trial submissions and other feedback from potential clinical trial sites, including investigational review boards at such sites, and other review bodies with respect to STAR-0215, STAR-0310, and any other future development candidates; our ability to manufacture sufficient quantities of drug substance and drug product for STAR-0215, STAR-0310, and any other future product candidates on a cost-effective and timely basis, and to develop dosages and formulations for STAR-0215, STAR-0310, and any other future product candidates that are patient-friendly and competitive; our ability to develop biomarker and other assays, along with the testing protocols therefor; our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights for STAR-0215, STAR-0310 and any other future product candidates; our potential dependence on collaboration partners; competition with respect to STAR-0215, STAR-0310, or any of our other future product candidates; the risk that survey results, modeling data and market research may not be accurate predictors of the commercial landscape for HAE, the ability of STAR-0215 to compete in HAE and the anticipated position and attributes of STAR-0215 in HAE based on clinical data to date, its preclinical profile, pharmacokinetic modeling, market research and other data; risks that any of our clinical trials of STAR-0310 may not commence, continue or be completed on time, or at all; risks that results of preclinical studies of STAR-0310 will not be replicated in clinical trials; our ability to manage our cash usage and the possibility of unexpected cash expenditures; our ability to obtain necessary financing to conduct our planned activities and to manage unplanned cash requirements; the risks and uncertainties related to our ability to recognize the benefits of any additional acquisitions, licenses or similar transactions; and general economic and market conditions; as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2023 and in other filings that we may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties. Astria may not actually achieve the forecasts or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and investors and potential investors should not place undue reliance on Astria’s forward-looking statements. Neither Astria, nor its affiliates, advisors or representatives, undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Astria’s views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240409245984/en/

Astria:

Investor Relations and Media:

Elizabeth Higgins

investors@astriatx.com

Source: Astria Therapeutics, Inc.

FAQ

Who was appointed to Astria Therapeutics, Inc.'s Board of Directors?

Dr. Sunil Agarwal was appointed to Astria Therapeutics, Inc.'s Board of Directors.

What is Dr. Sunil Agarwal's background?

Dr. Sunil Agarwal has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology research, development, and commercialization. He holds a B.S. in neurobiology from Cornell University and an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine.

What is the focus of Astria Therapeutics, Inc.?

Astria Therapeutics, Inc. focuses on developing therapies for allergic and immunological diseases.

What is the goal of developing STAR-0215?

The goal of developing STAR-0215 is to become the market leader in hereditary angioedema, aiming to significantly improve patients' lives.

What are some of the companies Dr. Sunil Agarwal has previously been associated with?

Dr. Sunil Agarwal has previously been associated with companies like Arvinas, Calithera Biosciences, MyoKardia, Vitrisa Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Juno Therapeutics, Ultragenyx, and Genentech.