LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arialys Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering new precision medicines for autoimmune neuropsychiatry, today announced the appointment of Peter Flynn, Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Flynn has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in the biotech industry, from private start-ups to established publicly traded companies, scaling companies through key financings and pharma partnerships, advancing novel therapeutics from scientific breakthrough to the clinic, and commercializing FDA-approved medicines. In conjunction, Jay Lichter, Ph.D., Managing Partner of Avalon BioVentures and former President and CEO of Arialys, has been appointed Chair of the company’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Lichter said, “Peter’s success in thoughtfully building and funding companies and experience advancing novel therapeutics in the clinic will be invaluable as Arialys brings its lead drug candidate, ART5803, into clinical study for the treatment of ANRE and autoimmune psychosis. As Chair, I look forward to working with Peter and the rest of the team to develop novel precision medicines and diagnostics to help millions of people who suffer from neuropsychiatric disorders driven by autoimmune disease.”
“Arialys is on the forefront of transforming the treatment landscape for neuropsychiatry by applying a precision medicine approach to breakthrough insights in autoimmune driven neuropsychiatric diseases,” said Dr. Flynn. “Arialys has already generated significant preclinical proof-of-concept data for ART5803, and I look forward to working with the dedicated team and distinguished Clinical Advisory Board to advance this potentially transformative medicine into the clinic next year. I also am excited to build upon the team’s insights, discovering and characterizing pathogenic autoantibodies, to explore additional therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of CNS diseases driven by autoimmunity.”
Prior to joining Arialys, Dr. Flynn was Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Artiva Biotherapeutics, where he oversaw business development and strategy, research, manufacturing, and corporate operations. During his time at Artiva, the company achieved significant financing, clearance of several IND applications, the establishment of a built-to-fit office, research labs, and internal GMP manufacturing capability, and corporate partnerships with Merck and Affimed. Prior to Artiva, Dr. Flynn was the Global Head of Development and a senior executive at Orexigen, where he oversaw the post-marketing development and regulatory aspects of Contrave®, an FDA-approved weight-loss prescription medication. Coordinating staff across the U.S., E.U., and MENA regions, he collaborated with the commercial team to ensure effective medical and regulatory support for global partnerships and direct-to-consumer and telemedicine campaigns for Contrave. Prior to Orexigen, Dr. Flynn was Senior Vice President, Early Program Development at Fate Therapeutics, where he was responsible for the development of the iPSC platform and was a member of the senior executive team for Fate’s IPO in 2013. Prior to Fate, he was Vice President of Research at Ren Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Flynn started his industry career at the antibody therapeutics company KaloBios, where as head of biochemistry he helped build both the platform technology and therapeutic pipeline. Dr. Flynn received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund / University College London and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.
About ANRE and ART5803
Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (ANRE), one of the most common forms of autoimmune encephalitis, is a rare, potentially lethal, and poorly managed neurological disease because it is often misdiagnosed. ANRE is caused by autoantibodies that crosslink and drive internalization of NMDA receptors (NMDAR), resulting in psychosis. Arialys’ lead therapeutic ART5803 is a therapeutic antibody designed to treat ANRE by blocking NMDAR autoantibodies. Arialys has generated promising preclinical data in a nonhuman primate disease model confirming ART5803 reverses encephalitis and decreases the behavioral symptoms caused by NMDAR autoantibody pathogenicity in the brain. Arialys has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. FDA for ART5803 for the treatment of ANRE.
About Arialys Therapeutics
Founded to explore the latest discoveries in autoimmune neuropsychiatry, Arialys Therapeutics is developing new precision medicines to specifically block pathogenic autoantibodies in the brain and meaningfully expand the treatment possibilities for neuropsychiatric disorders driven by autoimmune disease. Arialys is headquartered in the Avalon BioVentures Accelerator on the Torrey Pines Mesa, in La Jolla, California. For more info, visit www.arialysrx.com.
