Atavistik Bio Appoints Mohammad Hirmand, M.D. to Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced that Mohammad Hirmand, M.D. has joined its Board of Directors. With more than 20 years of clinical development experience and multiple executive leadership roles, Dr. Hirmand will strengthen Atavistik Bio’s board as the company continues to advance its portfolio of oncology-focused precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics into the clinic.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Mohammad Hirmand to Atavistik Bio’s board at this pivotal moment for the company as we advance our programs into the clinic. Mohammad brings deep clinical leadership experience from several biotech companies that successfully advanced novel oncology medicines,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer, Atavistik Bio. “Mohammad’s insights will prove invaluable to achieve our vision of bringing transformative precision allosteric therapeutics to large populations with unmet need.”

“I’m excited to join Atavistik Bio’s board as the company prepares for its rapidly approaching clinical development milestones,” said Dr. Hirmand. “As an industry, we’ve made important progress delivering breakthrough cancer treatments. However, there is enduring unmet need for significant patient populations, which underscores the opportunity to deliver more effective and safer treatment options. I believe Atavistik Bio’s focus on precision allostery, its pipeline of high value oncology targets, and its highly experienced team hold tremendous potential to fulfill many of these unmet needs.”

Dr. Hirmand is currently co-founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Avenzo Therapeutics. Previously, Dr. Hirmand served as Executive Vice President and CMO for Turning Point Therapeutics, which was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to joining Turning Point, Dr. Hirmand was CMO of Peloton Therapeutics, which was acquired by Merck. Prior to joining Peloton, Dr. Hirmand served as CMO of Medivation through its acquisition by Pfizer. Before his 10-year tenure at Medivation, he held clinical development roles of increasing responsibility at Nuvelo, Inc. (now ARCA Biopharma), SuperGen, Inc. (now Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), Tularik, Inc. (now part of Amgen), and Theravance Biopharma, Inc.

Dr. Hirmand received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his B.A. in Biological Sciences and Economics from Cornell University.

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio is a biotechnology company accelerating the discovery and development of transformative precision allosteric therapeutics to address serious unmet patient needs, with a focus on oncology. Atavistik Bio is led by an experienced team of drug hunters with a proven track record of developing marketed small molecule therapies and supported by top-tier investors, including The Column Group, Nextech Invest, and Lux Capital. To learn more, visit us at atavistikbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.