CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aura Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy cancer cells, announced today that it has formed a Clinical Advisory Board in Ocular Oncology and bolstered its clinical development team as it prepares to initiate clinical testing of its lead program in Ocular (uveal) Melanoma.
Carol Shields, MD, co-Director of the Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia; Evangelos Gragoudas, MD, Director of Retina Service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard University in Boston; and Arun D. Singh, Director of the Department of Ophthalmic Oncology in the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, will make up the Clinical Advisory Board (CAB), which will help guide the clinical development of AU-011, Aura’s lead program in Ocular Melanoma. Drs. Shields, Gragoudas and Singh are recognized world leaders in the early diagnosis and clinical care of people with Ocular Melanoma.
In addition to forming its CAB, Aura has appointed Denis O’Shaughnessy, PhD, to the position of Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. O’Shaughnessy has led the clinical development of multiple ophthalmology products over the past two decades in roles at Hoffman-LaRoche, Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, OPKO Health, and Oraya Therapeutics.
“We are pleased to have the support and guidance of three of the world’s experts as we prepare to initiate clinical testing of the first therapy ever developed for the primary treatment of Ocular Melanoma in 2016,” said Elisabet de los Pinos, founder and CEO of Aura Biosciences. “The direction of our CAB and expertise of our expanding clinical team will be invaluable to Aura as we enter this critical moment in our growth as a company.”
About Aura Biosciences
Aura Biosciences is developing a new class of therapies to target and selectively destroy tumor cells. Its lead program in ocular melanoma, developed under a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com.
Contacts
Aura Biosciences
Dan Quinn, 781-475-7974
Ten Bridge Communications
dan@tenbridgecommunications.com