WALTHAM, Mass. & VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arsanis, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for pre-emptive and post-infection treatment of serious infectious diseases, today announced it has appointed Anthony Christopher (Chris) Stevens, MD, as chief medical officer. In this role, Dr. Stevens will drive the clinical development strategy for the full pipeline, including lead candidate ASN100 for the prevention and treatment of serious Staphylococcus aureus infections. Dr. Stevens joins Arsanis with more than 17 years of senior management and consulting experience in drug development, including strategy, execution and operations management for U.S. and European clinical trials and regulatory filings.
“Chris has been a trusted, sought after and highly effective clinical and medical advisor to many leading companies in the biotechnology industry for nearly two decades,” said Rene Russo, Pharm.D., BCPS, CEO, Arsanis. “Chris’s extensive clinical and regulatory experience will be a strong complement to the collective expertise of our broader leadership team as we work to address some of the most critical threats in infectious diseases through novel targeted monoclonal antibodies.”
Prior to joining Arsanis, Dr. Stevens spent more than a decade consulting for nearly 30 companies assisting with all stages of drug development in the United States and Europe. While working with Cubist, he guided the development strategy for surotomycin for the treatment of C. difficile infection from IND filing to the completion of its successful phase 2 trial. As a strategic consultant for Dyax, he supported the development of peptide and monoclonal antibody therapies for hereditary angioedema. He also served on the Millenium/Takeda team that led to the approval of vedolizumab for both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis treatment indications in the United States and Europe. He served as senior vice president of clinical development at Alnara Pharmaceuticals, and also previously held medical director roles at Circe Biomedical and Altus Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Stevens spent 10 years as a clinical and research gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and as an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, during which he authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.
“Arsanis is in a unique position to potentially transform the clinical management of serious infections by developing monoclonal antibodies to target bacteria and their toxins thereby not only avoiding the problem of antibiotic resistance, but also creating options for pre-emptive therapy in high-risk patients,” said Dr. Stevens. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside my new colleagues at Arsanis and to join them at the forefront of focused development of monoclonal antibodies to both prevent and treat infectious disease at a time of ever increasing antibiotic resistance.”
In addition to planning for the initiation of phase 2 clinical studies with ASN100 for S. aureus pneumonia in the second half of 2016, Arsanis also continues to advance earlier-stage mAb candidates targeting specific mechanisms of serious Gram-negative and Gram-positive infections, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
About Arsanis, Inc.
Arsanis is a clinical-stage company
leading the development of targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for
pre-emptive and post-infection treatment of serious infectious diseases.
The company’s current programs address pathogenic processes selectively,
rather than aiming to broadly eliminate bacteria, potentially allowing
Arsanis to address critical infections without contributing to the
problem of antibiotic resistance. The company is building a broad
product pipeline addressing the most important Gram-positive and
Gram-negative bacterial pathogens threatening hospitalized and high-risk
patients. Its lead therapeutic candidate, ASN100, is aimed at the
prevention and treatment of serious Staphylococcus aureus
infections and entered a Phase I clinical trial in the fall in 2015,
with a Phase II study anticipated to begin in 2016.
Arsanis is a U.S. company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with European research and preclinical development operations headquartered in Vienna, Austria (Arsanis Biosciences GmbH).
For more information, please visit the Arsanis website at www.arsanis.com.
