Chaired by Dr. Kannan Rangaramanujam from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, members include experts in nanomedicine, oncology, ophthalmology, hepatology, neurobiology, and drug delivery
REDWOOD CITY, CA – October 29, 2020 – Ashvattha Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on novel hydroxyl dendrimer therapeutics (HDTs) targeted to reactive inflammatory cells, to treat unmet medical needs in oncology, ocular, and inflammatory diseases, today announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), chaired by Kannan Rangaramanujam, Ph.D, founder and Chief Technology Officer. The SAB will work closely with Ashvattha’s management team to select and develop highly differentiated HDTs to treat diseases with significant unmet medical need.
“The scientific guidance of this group of experts will be invaluable as we translate HDTs to the clinic to help patients,” said Jeffrey Cleland, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO & President at Ashvattha Therapeutics.
“The power of this platform to target reactive microglia and macrophages specifically without a need for ligands, the associated therapeutic benefits, and reduced side effects have been extensively validated in multiple small and large animal models,” said Kannan Rangaramanujam, Ph.D. “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with world-class translational researchers in our SAB, to bring out the potential of this approach to address many unmet health needs across the world.”
Nicholas Peppas, Sc.D., world renowned nanomedicine expert, added: “The hydroxyl dendrimer platform of Ashvattha is a major disruptive approach that brings novel avenues for treating inflammatory disorders in a targeted manner. The fascinating applications in oncology, ophthalmology, and neurology are already evident, with the potential to address major unmet needs.”
The members of Ashvattha Therapeutics’ Scientific Advisory Board include:
- Kannan Rangaramanujam, Ph.D., (Chair) the Arnall Patz distinguished professor of ophthalmology and co-director of center for nanomedicine at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from California Institute of Technology. His research group at Hopkins Medicine works on translational nanomedicine centered on the unique hydroxyl dendrimer platform technology to develop treatments for inflammatory disorders. He has won several recognitions, including fellowship of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE) and NSF CAREER award.
- Nicholas A. Peppas, Sc.D. is the Cockrell Family Regents Chaired Professor in the Departments of Chemical, Biomedical Engineering, Pediatrics, Surgery and Pharmacy, and Director of the Institute of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine of the University of Texas at Austin. His work in biomaterials, drug delivery bio-nanotechnology and nanomaterials follows a multidisciplinary approach by blending modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering principles to design the next-generation of therapeutic agent release systems for treatment of diabetes, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, medical systems and devices for patient treatment.
- Hamid Ghandehari, Ph.D. is a Professor and George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Presidential Endowed Chair in the Departments of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, and Director of Utah Center for Nanomedicine. His research focuses on the design of recombinant polymers for localized drug delivery, targeted delivery of polymer therapeutics to solid tumors, oral delivery of chemotherapeutics, and assessing the biocompatibility of silica and dendritic nanoconstructs. He received his BS in Pharmacy and PhD in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Utah.
- Kim Green, Ph.D. is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Over the past decade his work has focused on the immune cells of the brain, known as microglia, and developed approaches based around the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) to modulate this tissue. His work has uncovered various roles that these cells play in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including their facilitation of synaptic and neuronal loss, as well as in the development of amyloid-plaques in the first place. He conducted his Ph.D. in Cellular Neurophysiology at the University of Leeds in the UK exploring the link between hypoxia and the production of the Ab peptide implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D., is the Hiller Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard’s Wyss Institute. Dr. Mitragotri has made groundbreaking contributions to the field of biological barriers and drug delivery, which has led to the development of new materials and technologies for diagnosis and treatment of various ailments including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, skin conditions and infections. Dr. Mitragotri received his Ph.D. from MIT and B.S. from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, both in Chemical Engineering.
- Mani Subramanian, M.D., Ph.D., the founding CEO of The Liver Company (TLC) and a Venture Partner at Samsara BioCapital. He was previously at Gilead Sciences from 2011-2020, where he was the Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head for Liver Diseases. He completed his Ph.D. (Immunology & Microbiology) at the University at Michigan, Ann Arbor, followed by residency in Internal Medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, and fellowship in Infectious Diseases, with post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH.
Additional background information on the SAB members can be found on our website, www.avttx.com.
About Ashvattha Therapeutics
Ashvattha Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is developing novel therapeutics that target and alter reactive inflammatory cells localized in the diseased tissues. The Company’s targeted platform technology, hydroxyl dendrimers (HD), is exclusively licensed from Johns Hopkins University. HDs chemically conjugated to disease modifying drugs to create novel proprietary HD therapeutics (HDTs). Ashvattha has initiated multiple programs with HDTs focused on oncology, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), hyperinflammation associated with COVID-19, and neuroinflammatory disorders such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, visit: www.avttx.com