GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Georgiamune Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company, announces the appointment of Mark Avagliano as Chief Business Officer. The news comes as Georgiamune closes out 2024 after having initiated three assets into clinical trials. With Phase 2 testing ambitions set for 2025 across the three clinical assets in both cancer and autoimmune diseases (GIM-122, GIM-531 and GIM-407), Avagliano’s combination of business acumen and sector expertise will further empower the company to meet these pivotal milestones while ensuring that its robust earlier stage pipeline progresses through development.
Bringing over two decades of biopharma industry experience to Georgiamune, Avagliano most recently served as Chief Business Officer at G1 Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology company, from July 2019 until its acquisition in 2024. Prior to that, he spent 16 years at Pfizer, where he held various strategic and business development roles, culminating in his position as Vice President of Corporate Development. Throughout his career, Avagliano has led the execution of numerous transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, co-developments, co-promotions, and product licenses. He brings this extensive combination of skills to Georgiamune, where he will lead corporate strategy, business development, and portfolio prioritization efforts.
“It’s such a privilege to be part of Georgiamune and to be joining this world-class team and organization that is making major strides in the discovery and development of much needed new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer,” said Mark Avagliano, Chief Business Officer, Georgiamune. “The company’s rapid progress in developing a diverse pipeline of first-in-class molecules is exemplified by successfully advancing three first-in-class assets into Phase 1 trials within 12 months, which is highly impressive and underscores the immense potential of our unique immune system reprogramming platform developed by Georgiamune. This approach and pipeline provide a meaningful opportunity to address substantial unmet needs in both autoimmune diseases and cancer, with the potential to improve outcomes for millions of patients worldwide. I look forward to helping advance our promising candidates and exploring new partnerships that can accelerate our mission of delivering transformative new therapies to patients.”
Dr. Samir N. Khleif, Georgiamune founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Mark is joining our leadership team at a crucial juncture in Georgiamune’s growth as we progress towards Phase 2 studies across each of our three clinical-stage assets, while fortifying our early stage pipeline. We understand the value of partnerships across the full biopharma ecosystem to address critical areas of large unmet need as efficiently and rapidly as possible. Mark will be instrumental in helping shape our strategy and in identifying the partnerships that will power the development and delivery of our innovative therapies to patients who need them most.”
Mark Avagliano and the Georgiamune team will be in San Francisco for the 43rd JPM Healthcare Conference on January 13-16, 2025. To get in touch, email info@georgiamune.com.
About Georgiamune Inc.
Georgiamune Inc. is a clinical-stage science and discovery biotechnology company focused on reprogramming immune signaling pathways to redirect the immune system to fight diseases. Georgiamune has designed unique approaches to re-establish immune balance, and its scientific discoveries have led to pioneering immunotherapies targeting high unmet needs. The company’s lead program, GIM-122, is a first-in-class, dual-functioning monoclonal antibody. GIM-122 is designed to overcome immune therapy resistance in cancer patients. In addition to its lead program, the company is advancing a pipeline of first-in-class therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Georgiamune was founded by Dr. Samir N. Khleif, a world-renowned medical oncologist and researcher in the field of immunology and cancer, based on discoveries in his lab on novel mechanisms to modulate immune response. Dr. Khleif’s work has led to the discovery of novel core targets that control critical immune cell pathways leading to the development of first-in-class molecules that modulate and restore these immune signaling pathways for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
For more information about Georgiamune, please visit the company’s website at Georgiamune.com or follow the company on LinkedIn.
