AVD-104

Novel optimized nanoparticle that modulate innate immune dysfunction in AMD to prevent vision loss

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Technology Platform

Glycobiology platform combined with proprietary nanoparticle technology to provide maximum efficacy

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Therapeutic Applications

Next generation of immuno-modulators that address a wide range of significant unmet medical needs

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About

What’s in a name you say? We say “Inspiration.” We take our name and inspiration from the Aviceda genus of birds renowned for their keen eyesight. Just like these birds of prey we never lose sight of the objective to bring transformative medicines to patients.

Our Bold Vision

To bring transformative therapeutic strategies to the clinic that will cure disease, transform lives, and address significant unmet medical needs.

Science

Aviceda Therapeutics is an innovative clinical-stage biotech company focused on harnessing the promise of immune cells’ natural checkpoints, which modulate innate immune activity that is dysregulated in a diverse range of diseases characterized by chronic non-resolving inflammation.

Innovative Biology

Glycome has much greater diversity than genome or proteome. Siglec-Sialic Acid Axis is like a combinatorial lock (Siglecs) requiring a code (Sialyloglycans) to modulate innate immune checkpoints.

The Glycome

The Glycome

Aviceda’s technology is predicated on engaging immunological switches that turn on and off pathologic mechanisms.

  • Pathologic switches can modulate abberant immune activity, either dampening or activating the immune response
  • The strength of Aviceda’s therapeutic platform is its ability to stimulate a broad range of immune responses, including profound down regulation to address inappropriate activity, and immune normalization to addresses diseases characterized by evasion of immune surveillance.

Siglec receptors on immune cells shut down activity

Aviceda's technology platform engineered a highly optimized glyco-ligands that can modulate the self-recognition receptors on immune cells profoundly and specifically and convert them to resolution state.

Aviceda's Technology Platform

Aviceda Ophthalmics

Aviceda’s lead candidate targets age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that is driven by an aberrant immune-inflammatory response in the retina.

Dry AMD Pathogenesis Is Driven by Dysregulated Immune Activity

Inflammatory Role in AMD Pathogenesis

Inflammatory Role AMD Pathogenesis

The formation of drusen on the retina is highly consequential for AMD pathogenesis: the innate immune system initiates inflammatory mediators to help remove the non-native drusen, but when it can no longer be effectively cleared, immune activity, and consequential release of pro-inflammatory signals, continues indefinitely in a pathologic cycle.

  • Accumulation of drusen triggers pro-inflammatory activity, including complement activation. A consequence of increased inflammation is the build-up of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMP), which are “danger signals” that drive continued immune activity.
  • Aviceda’s platform technology is designed to mimic self-associated molecular patterns (SAMPs, i.e. “self”) glycans with known self-regulatory properties including modulating immune activity, in the AMD disease cycle. This activity would stop the inflammatory cascade and potentially reverse the pathologic process.

Glyco-Immune Therapeutics in AMD

Aviceda’s AMD Therapeutic Strategy:

  1. 1Polarize pathologic inflammatory cells to resting stage
  2. 2Resolve Complement Activation

Cellular Process

Glyco-Immune Therapeutics in AMD Cellular Process

Aviceda’s Ophthalmics lead candidate, AVD-104, is being developed to target various immune system responses that contribute to pathology associated with dry AMD.

  • AVD-104 is a Glyco-Immune Therapeutic (GIT), meaning it engages a specific aspect of the innate immune cascade associated with AMD to shut off dysregulated activity and bias cellular components toward a repair state.
  • The concept of immunological switches that turn on and off pathologic mechanisms is based on strongly established scientific principles.
  • GITs target cellular and humoral (i.e., complement) aspects of innate immune response, which differentiates from previous strategies to attenuate immune responses in dry AMD that focused only on shutting down humoral components of the immune response.

The Aviceda Solution

Aviceda Ophthalmics is developing a pipeline of GITs that are delivered via biodegradable nanoparticles and which safely and effectively target both cellular and humoral aspects of inflammatory processes in AMD.

Pipeline

Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
AVD-104
Indication
GA/Dry AMD
Phase
IND Readiness
Asset
AVD-104
Indication
Retina Atrophy 2nd to Wet AMD
Phase
Preclinical
Asset
AVD-302
Indication
Diabetic Retinopathy
Phase
Optimization
Asset
AVD-201
Indication
Ocular Fibrosis
Phase
Optimization
Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
AVD-901
Indication
Lung
Phase
Preclinical
Asset
AVD-1001
Indication
Liver
Phase
Preclinical
Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
AVD-801
Indication
Neuro inflammation / degeneration (undisclosed)
Phase
Discovery
Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
AVD-1010
Indication
Lung Inflammation
Phase
Preclinical
Asset
AVD-1003
Indication
Autoimmune (undisclosed)
Phase
Discovery
Asset
Indication
Discovery
Optimization
Preclinical
IND Readiness
Phase I/II
Asset
AVD-601
Indication
(undisclosed)
Phase
Discovery
Asset
AVD-701
Indication
Solid Tumors
Phase
Preclinical

Team

The Aviceda team is comprised of world-class leaders in drug development, clinical sciences, drug discovery, clinical research, and finance to deliver disruptive, first-in-class & best-in-class therapeutics to a wide range of disease states.

Management

Mohamed Genead, MD team member photo

Mohamed Genead, MD

Co-Founder, CEO & President

David Callanan, MD team member photo

David Callanan, MD

Chief Medical Officer & Senior Vice-President

Christopher Scott, PhD team member photo

Christopher Scott, PhD

Scientific Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer

Tarek S. Hassan, MD team member photo

Tarek S. Hassan, MD

Chief Development Officer & Senior Vice-President

Michael Tolentino, MD team member photo

Michael Tolentino, MD

Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer

Anitha Krishnan, PhD team member photo

Anitha Krishnan, PhD

Head of Biology Research

Board of Directors

Nancy Thomason, MBA team member photo

Nancy Thomason, MBA

Chair

Chris Adams, PhD, MBA team member photo

Chris Adams, PhD, MBA

Director

Mohamed A. Genead, MD team member photo

Mohamed A. Genead, MD

Director

Michael Tolentino, MD team member photo

Michael Tolentino, MD

Director

Paul Vukelic team member photo

Paul Vukelic

Director

Patrick Johnson, PhD team member photo

Patrick Johnson, PhD

Director

Derek Kunimoto, MD, JD team member photo

Derek Kunimoto, MD, JD

Observer

Scientific Advisors

Pamela Stanley, PhD team member photo

Pamela Stanley, PhD

Chair of Scientific Board

Ajit Varki, MD team member photo

Ajit Varki, MD

Yvette van Kooyk, PhD team member photo

Yvette van Kooyk, PhD

Geert-Jan Boons, PhD team member photo

Geert-Jan Boons, PhD

Ronald Schnaar, PhD team member photo

Ronald Schnaar, PhD

Linus Ho, MD, PhD team member photo

Linus Ho, MD, PhD

Salem Chouaib, PhD team member photo

Salem Chouaib, PhD

Richard Kennedy, MD, PhD team member photo

Richard Kennedy, MD, PhD

Jim Johnston, PhD team member photo

Jim Johnston, PhD

Clinical Advisors

Robert L. Avery, MD team member photo

Robert L. Avery, MD

Dr. Rishi P. Singh MD team member photo

Dr. Rishi P. Singh MD

Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD team member photo

Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD

Carl Regillo, MD team member photo

Carl Regillo, MD

Arshad M. Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS team member photo

Arshad M. Khanani, MD, MA, FASRS

Jeffrey Heier, MD team member photo

Jeffrey Heier, MD

David S. Boyer, MD team member photo

David S. Boyer, MD

Peter K. Kaiser, MD team member photo

Peter K. Kaiser, MD

Founders

Christopher Scott, PhD

Scientific Co-Founder

Mohamed Genead, MD

Co-Founder, CEO & President

Derek Kunimoto, MD, JD

Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Tolentino, MD

Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer

News & Events

businesswire.com 06.01.2023
Aviceda Announces Dosing of First Patient With AVD-104, a Novel Glyco-Mimetic Nanoparticle for the Treatment of Geographic Atrophy from Macular Degeneration, in the Phase 2 SIGLEC Trial

Aviceda Therapeutics, a private clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing next generation immuno-modulators by harnessing the power of glycobiology to alleviate chronic, non-resolving inflammation, announced the dosing of its first patient with AVD-104 in its Phase 2 SIGLEC Trial today by Ashkan Abbey, MD of Texas Retina Associates in Dallas.

Full article
businesswire.com 05.17.2023
Aviceda Therapeutics Appoints Biopharma and Business Senior Executive Patrick Johnson, PhD, to its Board of Directors

Aviceda Therapeutics, a private clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing next-generation immunomodulators by harnessing the power of glycobiology to modulate the innate immune system and alleviate chronic, non-resolving inflammation with its lead ophthalmic asset, AVD-104, in late-stage clinical development for treatment of patients with geographic atrophy (GA), today announced the appointment of Patrick Johnson to its board of directors.

Full article
businesswire.com 04.13.2023
Aviceda Announces FDA Clearance of the Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for AVD-104, a Novel Glyco-Mimetic Nanoparticle, Enabling Initiation of Phase 2 Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Geographic Atrophy from Macular Degeneration

Aviceda Therapeutics, a private clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing next generation immuno-modulators by harnessing the power of glycobiology to modulate the innate immune system and alleviate chronic, non-resolving inflammation, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the IND for AVD-104.

Full article

Careers

Aviceda Therapeutics is building a world-class team of people dedicated to the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat patients with life threatening diseases. We seek highly motivated individuals who enjoy working in a collaborative atmosphere and a goal-oriented environment.

Positions

Senior Scientist/Associate Principal Scientist-Formulation and Analytical Method Development Senior/Principal Scientist-Bioanalytical Development Scientist In-vitro/In-vivo Biology (Ophthalmology)

Contact

Aviceda Therapeutics is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has academic research partners in Georgia, Northern Ireland, and The Netherlands

Aviceda Glycotech, Ltd. is a subsidiary headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland with a special emphasis on oncology and other immunologic disease therapies

Logo Complex Carbohydrate Research Center University of Georgia Logo Queen's University Belfast Logo Aviceda Glycotech, Ltd