WARMINSTER, Pa., Nov. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on discovering, developing and commercializing a broad portfolio of wholly-owned assets with different modes of action to provide a cure for people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and to treat coronaviruses (including COVID-19), today announced that Tram Tran, M.D. has been appointed to the Arbutus Board of Directors effective immediately. Dr. Tran is a renowned liver and viral specialist with over 20 years of academic and industry experience as a physician scientist.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Tran to the Arbutus Board,” said William Collier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbutus. “Her extensive medical and scientific expertise in the field of hepatology will be invaluable as Arbutus continues to advance its broad portfolio of diverse assets to find a curative regimen for patients with chronic Hepatitis B.”
Dr. Tran currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Glympse, a biotech company focused on optimizing disease diagnosis and monitoring. Previously, she worked at Gilead Sciences as the Vice President of Medical Affairs, Global Head, Liver Diseases (HBV, HCV, HDV), Fibrosis (NASH, PSC) and COVID-19. Prior to her work at Gilead, Dr. Tran was the Medical Director of Liver Transplantation, GI Fellowship Program Director at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and a Professor of Medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has authored and co-authored over 150 abstracts, published manuscripts and book chapters, and has been extensively involved in clinical trials and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research. Dr. Tran earned her undergraduate degree at UCLA, received her medical degree (M.D.) from New York Medical College, continued her training in internal medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and completed Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology fellowships at UCLA, where she maintains clinical and teaching activities.
“It’s an honor to join an organization with a strong commitment to addressing the unmet medical needs of Hepatitis B patients,” said Dr. Tran. “I look forward to sharing my expertise and working with my fellow board members to support Arbutus in its continued efforts to develop treatments for HBV and coronaviruses.”
About Arbutus
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on discovering, developing and commercializing a broad portfolio of wholly-owned assets with different modes of action to provide a cure for people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The Company is advancing multiple product candidates with distinct mechanisms of action that suppress viral replication, reduce surface antigen and reawaken the immune system. Arbutus believes this three-prong approach is key to transforming the treatment and developing a potential cure for chronic HBV infection. Arbutus’ HBV product pipeline includes RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, oral capsid inhibitors, oral compounds that inhibit PD-L1 and oral HBV RNA destabilizers. In addition, Arbutus has an ongoing drug discovery and development program directed to identifying orally active agents for treating coronaviruses (including COVID-19). For more information, visit www.arbutusbio.com.
