Artiva Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company whose mission is to develop effective, safe, and accessible cell therapies for patients with devastating autoimmune diseases and cancers, announced the appointment of Subhashis Banerjee, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Banerjee is a trained rheumatologist and immunologist who brings over two decades of clinical development experience in autoimmune diseases, most recently as Disease Area Head for Rheumatology and Dermatology Global Development at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), and Senior Vice President (SVP), Clinical Development at VYNE Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Banerjee will succeed Thorsten Graef, M.D., Ph.D., who will continue as a strategic advisor to the Company.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Banerjee to Artiva as we focus clinical development of our AlloNK® program on the treatment of B-cell driven autoimmune diseases. Dr. Banerjee, together with our recently appointed board member, Dr. Dan Baker, was a part of the early introduction of biologics for autoimmune diseases and reinforces the deep, longitudinal expertise in autoimmunity we have at Artiva,” said Fred Aslan, M.D., CEO of Artiva. “Importantly, we are excited to leverage Dr. Banerjee’s extensive experience in clinical development and regulatory approval of multiple blockbuster therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory and rheumatology indications, including Humira®, Taltz®, Orencia®, and Sotyktu®, to hone in on the rheumatology indications we believe AlloNK could bring relief to patients, and be administered in community settings worldwide.”
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Dr. Aslan continued, “On behalf of the team, I wish to thank Dr. Graef for his extensive contributions to the Company and advancing our AlloNK oncology program to this stage. We look forward to his continued partnership in his new role as a strategic advisor.”
Dr. Banerjee added, “Artiva is leading the development of NK cell treatments for autoimmune disease, with the potential to offer a much-needed, long-term therapeutic option with an accessibility and safety profile that enables broad use in a community setting. The robust B-cell depletion seen with AlloNK through enhanced antibody-directed killing of cells in non-Hodgkin lymphoma bodes well for our opportunity to deeply deplete B-cells in patients with autoimmune diseases and to bring about meaningful clinical improvements and medication reductions. Artiva has built a very seasoned development team, and I am excited to lead the effort to further define the indications where AlloNK can be most impactful, and to help drive the program towards late-stage development.”
SOURCE: GlobeNewswire