PITTSBURGH, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Avista Therapeutics, a pre-clinical-stage biotechnology company developing innovative gene therapies for rare ophthalmic conditions, today announced the appointment of Steven Altschuler, MD, as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Altschuler brings more than two decades of experience in building and leading world-class translational value-based healthcare systems and innovative biotechnology companies to the Board.

"We are honored to welcome Steve as Chairman of the Board of Directors," said Robert Lin, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Avista Therapeutics. "With a successful track record as a leader and innovator, coupled with his deep experience in successfully advancing preclinical and clinical gene therapy programs for retinal disease, Steve's expertise and insights will be invaluable as we strive to deliver on our mission of creating next generation gene therapies for blindness."

Dr. Altschuler serves as Managing Director of Healthcare Ventures at Ziff Capital Partners, leading the firm's efforts in facilitating the startup and development of companies with transformative technologies. He is also the founding CEO and Board Chair of Corner Therapeutics. He previously co-founded Spark Therapeutics and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors, where he played a key role in bringing the first and only FDA-approved retinal gene therapy, LUXTURNA, to market. He formerly held chief executive positions at the University of Miami Health System and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

"The Avista team has developed a potentially paradigm-shifting approach utilizing its scAAVengr platform to improve delivery vectors and broaden gene therapy accessibility beyond sub-retinal delivery," said Dr. Altschuler. "Recently presented preclinical results support the potential of the platform to provide transformative clinical benefit in identifying the most effective viral vectors for delivering gene therapies to the retina. I am excited to collaborate with this talented team to accelerate the development and delivery of life-changing treatments to those affected by retinal diseases."

Dr. Altschuler is currently on the board of Lexeo Therapeutics, 89Bio, ViaNautis, Innovative Genomic Institute and POLG Foundation. He obtained his MD and BA in mathematics and statistics from Case Western Reserve University. He completed his residency in pediatric medicine at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital and his fellowship in gastroenterology and nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and CHOP.

About Avista Therapeutics
Avista Therapeutics' mission is to develop innovative gene therapies for retinal diseases, including rare ophthalmic conditions that have a profound impact on patients' quality of life. We leverage our computationally guided scAAVengr platform to generate and validate a toolkit of proprietary AAV vectors that target specific cell types using minimally invasive intravitreal delivery with reduced dosages. Our quantitative, in vivo-based approach and clinical ophthalmology expertise allow us to rapidly translate new gene therapies to the clinic.

SOURCE Avista Therapeutics