Aviceda Therapeutics Appoints Industry Veteran Dr. Jeffrey Nau as Chief Executive Officer to Lead Next Phase of Growth and Innovation

Aviceda Therapeutics (“Aviceda”), a private, clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing next-generation immunomodulators incorporating its proprietary High Affinity Ligands of Siglecs (HALOS™) nanotechnology platform with an aim to alleviate chronic, non-resolving inflammation, today announced the appointment of Jeffrey Nau, Ph.D., M.M.S., as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Dr. Nau will also join the Aviceda Board of Directors.

Dr. Nau is an accomplished biopharma executive with over two decades of experience leading and expanding biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Kalaris Therapeutics, he was instrumental in shaping the company’s operational and strategic vision and shepherding the company through a merger agreement with Allovir, Inc. During Dr. Nau’s tenure as CEO of Oyster Point Pharma, he successfully guided the company through its initial public offering in 2019, secured over $300 million in funding, and ultimately oversaw its acquisition by Viatris in 2023. Under his leadership, Oyster Point launched TYRVAYA®, the first and only FDA-approved nasal spray for the treatment of dry eye disease, and expanded its pipeline with the development of an investigational Enriched Tear Film (ETF™) Gene Therapy program.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Nau held leadership roles at several pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies, including Genentech (Roche), where he played a key role in the development and launch of multiple indications for Lucentis®, a therapy that transformed the treatment of blindness and generated peak sales of approximately $4 billion globally. Additionally, while at Ophthotech (later Iveric Bio), he was involved in the early development of Izervay®, a prescription eye injection used to treat geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

David Guyer, M.D., Board Chair of Aviceda, commented: “Dr. Nau is a proven growth architect with a track record of scaling companies and steering them through critical value-inflection points, including successful financings, commercial launches, and strategic M&A. His operational expertise across these key areas makes him the ideal leader to drive Aviceda’s next phase of growth. In addition, with his deep experience in ophthalmology, he will be invaluable as we advance AVD-104 into pivotal trials for geographic atrophy.”

Dr. Nau holds a Ph.D. in Public Health and Epidemiology from Walden University, a Master of Medical Science from Drexel University College of Medicine, and a B.S. in Biology from Stony Brook University. He is an inventor on multiple patents and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Nau added, “I am honored to join Aviceda and look forward to working with this talented team to advance our pipeline, forge strategic partnerships, and deliver breakthrough therapies that have the potential to change the treatment of geographic atrophy and other serious diseases.”

Aviceda previously announced an upsized $207.5 million Series C financing, co-led by Omega Funds and TCGX, with participation from other leading investment firms. The proceeds will support the advancement of AVD-104 into pivotal clinical trials, with twelve-month data from the fully enrolled Phase 2b/3 trial anticipated in the second half of 2025.

About Aviceda Therapeutics and AVD-104

Aviceda is a private, clinical-stage biotechnology company located in Cambridge, MA, with a proprietary High Affinity Ligands of Siglecs (HALOS™) nanotechnology platform and a clinical-stage ophthalmic candidate, AVD-104, for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration.

AVD-104 is an intravitreal glycan-coated nanoparticle with a dual mechanism of action that modulates critical inflammatory cellular and complement pathways through 1) direct deactivation of inflammatory microglia/macrophages’ phagocytic activity and repolarization of these activated microglia/macrophages to their healing state and 2) inhibition of complement cascade amplification.

Along with AVD-104, Aviceda has a broad pipeline of products in development in ophthalmology and multiple other therapeutic areas, including immunology, fibrosis, oncology, and neurology.

Visit the company website to learn more about Aviceda Therapeutics and follow the company on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

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