Icosavax Appoints Dr. John Shiver to Board of Directors
January 05 2022 - 8:00AM
Icosavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICVX), a biopharmaceutical company
leveraging its innovative virus-like particle (VLP) platform
technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, today
announced the appointment of John Shiver, Ph.D., to its Board of
Directors. Dr. Shiver has more than 30 years of experience in
vaccine and pharmaceutical research and development, including at
two of the most prominent vaccine companies in the world, Sanofi
Pasteur and Merck & Co., Inc. He has guided scientific teams to
create novel vaccine and monoclonal antibody candidates to prevent
or treat more than 40 infectious and non-infectious diseases,
including RSV, influenza, pneumococcus, CMV, HIV, HPV, cancer, and
asthma, and contributed to the licensure of 14 products.
“I am pleased to welcome John to our Board
during an important time in Icosavax’s continued growth as we work
to advance clinical development of our RSV and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
candidates based on our VLP platform technology,” said Adam
Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of Icosavax. “John’s extensive
experience in successfully advancing products to market from novel
platform technologies as well as his deep understanding of
infectious diseases will be invaluable as Icosavax works to
progress its vision of a multivalent VLP vaccine targeting the
viral causes of pneumonia in older adults.”
“Naturally occurring virus-like particles have
been successfully harnessed for effective vaccines, but
constructing and manufacturing VLPs displaying complex antigens has
been a major hurdle,” said Dr. Shiver. “That’s why Icosavax’s VLP
platform technology is so interesting as it enables the creation of
precision-designed VLP vaccine candidates for complex antigens,
like RSV, as well as multivalent vaccine candidates with the
potential to protect against two or more respiratory diseases and
streamline vaccine regimens. I look forward to providing my
expertise and working closely with Icosavax’s leadership team and
Board to advance the company’s VLP technology against
life-threatening respiratory diseases.”
Currently, Dr. Shiver is Chief Strategy Officer,
leader of the scientific advisory board, and member of the Board of
Directors at IGM ID, a wholly owned subsidiary of IGM Biosciences.
Prior to IGM ID, he was the Global Head of Vaccines R&D and a
member of the Executive Leadership team at Sanofi Pasteur, the
largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines. While at
Sanofi, Dr. Shiver championed three major collaborations and an
acquisition, including Sanofi’s collaboration with Translate Bio
for access to the company’s mRNA platform, its alliance with
MedImmune (now AstraZeneca) for nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody
being developed for the prevention of RSV in infants, and its
acquisition of Protein Sciences Corporation, which developed and
commercialized a recombinant protein-based influenza vaccine. Prior
to Sanofi, Dr. Shiver led vaccine research at Merck and served in
the experimental immunology branch of the National Institutes of
Health. Dr. Shiver is a fellow of the American Academy of
Microbiology and the International Society for Vaccines. He is the
author of more than 150 articles in top-tier journals and is a
co-author of 68 awarded patents.
About IcosavaxIcosavax is a
biopharmaceutical company leveraging its innovative VLP platform
technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, with an
initial focus on life-threatening respiratory diseases. Icosavax’s
VLP platform technology is designed to enable multivalent,
particle-based display of complex viral antigens, which it believes
will induce broad, robust, and durable protection against the
specific viruses targeted. Icosavax’s pipeline includes vaccine
candidates targeting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human
metapneumovirus (hMPV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Icosavax was formed in 2017 to advance
the breakthrough VLP technology from the Institute for Protein
Design at the University of Washington with the goal to discover,
develop, and commercialize vaccines against infectious diseases.
Icosavax exclusively licensed the VLP technology for use in several
fields, including RSV and hMPV, from the University of Washington.
For SARS-CoV-2, Icosavax has a non-exclusive, worldwide (excluding
South Korea) license from the University of Washington that will
convert to an exclusive license in North America and Europe in
2025. Icosavax is located in Seattle. For more information, visit
www.icosavax.com.
Forward Looking
StatementsStatements contained in this press release
regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our current
beliefs and expectations and include, but are not limited to: our
goal to progress our clinical candidates including our RSV and
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in clinical development and the
potential of our VLP technology to create differentiated vaccine
candidates for complex antigens and multivalent vaccine candidates
with the potential to protect against two or more respiratory
diseases and streamline vaccine regimens. Actual results may differ
from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and
uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without
limitation: the early stage of our development efforts; our
approach to the discovery and development of vaccine candidates,
which is a novel and unproven approach; potential delays in the
commencement, enrollment, and completion of clinical trials; the
inherent difficulty and uncertainty of vaccine development
including the possibility that vaccine candidates that appear
promising in non-clinical testing could fail in clinical trials;
and other risks described in our prior filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk
Factors” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2021 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we
undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events
that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All
forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.
Media Contact: Jessica
Yingling, Ph.D.Little Dog Communications
Inc.jessica@litldog.com+1.858.344.8091
Investor Contact: Laurence
WattsGilmartin Group,
LLClaurence@gilmartinir.com+1.619.916.7620
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