Antiva Biosciences Strengthens Leadership with Key New Appointments

Company Adds New Chief Medical Officer, Vice President of Project Management & Strategic Initiatives, and Vice President of Technical Operations

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Antiva Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of high-risk infections and pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papilloma virus (HPV), today announced several key new appointments designed to strengthen the company's leadership as it continues to advance its lead development candidate, ABI-2280. The company has added Elaine Chien, M.D., FACOG, as chief medical officer, Susan Wilson, Ph.D., as vice president of project management and strategic initiatives, and Rajashree Joshi-Hangal, Ph.D., as vice president of technical operations. Collectively, these individuals bring Antiva significant industry experience in areas directly related to the company's ongoing work in developing innovative treatments for diseases caused by HPV infection.

"With the closing of our Series E financing earlier this year, Antiva entered an important new phase as we work to advance ABI-2280 into key efficacy studies across multiple indications. With this as a backdrop, we are thrilled to bring aboard Elaine, Susan, and Rajashree to fortify our growing team, while expanding the range of leaderships' expertise to align with our ambitious clinical development strategy," said Kristine Ball, chief executive officer of Antiva. "These individuals have each established themselves as highly regarded biopharmaceutical executives with impressive resumes of accomplishments and we look forward to them continuing to make an impact by contributing to Antiva's important work in the areas global and women's health."

Antiva is currently working to advance ABI-2280 into key efficacy studies. Planned studies include Phase 2a clinical trials for the treatment of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2,3) and for the treatment for high-risk HPV infection, specifically in subtypes that can lead to cancer. ABI-2280 has potent antiviral activity across all genotypes of HPV and works by both directly blocking HPV replication and inducing apoptosis in HPV-infected lesions, while sparing normal cells. Antiva has leveraged its development expertise to formulate a vaginal tablet of ABI-2280 that will enable self-administration at diagnosis and facilitate worldwide distribution, increasing impact potential for patients.

Dr. Chien is a board-certified, licensed OB/GYN physician with more than 25 years of clinical and biopharmaceutical industry experience, including leading multidisciplinary teams in support of the advancement of early to late-stage clinical programs. In her role as Antiva's CMO, Dr. Chien will be responsible for the creating and overseeing strategy, direction, and execution of the company's clinical development plans.  Prior to joining Antiva, she served as vice president, clinical development and medical safety at Mirum Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for overall strategic and executional oversight of all development programs for the company's clinical-stage asset, as well as global medical safety and pharmacovigilance for all of Mirum's commercial and clinical assets. Prior to Mirum, Dr. Chien was the clinical development lead for the Myfembree^® global Phase 3 endometriosis program at Myovant Sciences, and the medical safety lead at Clovis Oncology for the U.S. and EU approvals of Rubraca^® for BRCA-positive ovarian cancer.

Dr. Wilson is a seasoned biopharmaceutical industry executive with more than 25 years of experience leading and managing complex global research and development programs. As vice president of project management and strategic initiatives, she will be charged with establishing and leading Antiva's program management function, aligning and mobilizing cross-functional teams to drive execution of the company's development programs.  Most recently, Dr. Wilson served as vice president, program, portfolio and alliance management (PPAM) at Revolution Medicines. During this time, she provided PPAM leadership for the company's portfolio of oncology-focused research and development assets from startup through rapid expansion of its clinical-stage portfolio. Dr. Wilson also provided key contributions to KAI Pharmaceuticals leading up to its July 2012 acquisition by Amgen, serving as the company's vice president, project management and project leader for KAI-4169, its lead development asset.

Dr. Joshi-Hangal possesses more than 25 years of product development experience in the biopharmaceutical industry combining technical, operational, and regulatory aspects of chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC). In her new role as vice president of technical operations with Antiva, she will be responsible for providing strategic direction, technical leadership, and operational execution of CMC development and manufacturing activities in support of the company's clinical development programs. Previously, Dr. Joshi-Hangal led CMC, regulatory affairs at Myovant Sciences, where she developed, implemented, and advised on global CMC regulatory strategies for new and late-stage programs including Myfembree^® and Orgovyx^®. She has also held positions of increasing managerial responsibilities in both technical and regulatory CMC areas  at Astex Pharmaceuticals.  During that time, Dr. Joshi-Hangal aided in the approval of hypomethylating agents, Dacogen^® followed by Inqovi^® by strategizing creative dose escalation formulations and shortening early phase of clinical development.

About HPV-Related Diseases and Cervical Cancer

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women are infected with the virus at some point in their lives. Many of these are transient infections the body is capable of clearing, but this typically takes months to years.  When the infections persist, they are known to drive the formation of malignancies, including cervical, anal, vulvar, penile, and head and neck cancers.

The introduction of prophylactic vaccines for HPV was a major step forward in the fight against HPV-associated cancers by preventing infection by certain high-risk HPV subtypes. However, due to low adoption rates in the US, EU, and Japan, and limited access to the vaccines in developing countries, HPV infections and the disease states driven by such infections remain a major unmet clinical need.

Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and as such represents a major public health problem. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 604,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and approximately 342,000 women died from the disease in 2020.

About Antiva Biosciences
Antiva Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of diseases caused by HPV infection. The company, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, was founded in 2012 by Dr. Karl Hostetler of The University of California San Diego. The company's lead drug candidate, ABI-2280 is being developed as a topical treatment for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL, CIN 2,3) and for women with high-risk HPV infection.

For more information, please visit: www.antivabio.com.

Contact Information:

Kristine Ball
Antiva Biosciences, Inc.
650-822-1400
[email protected]

Tim Brons
Vida Strategic Partners (media)
646-319-8981
[email protected]

SOURCE Antiva Biosciences, Inc.