News & Publications

• Dr. Pandya brings 20 years of drug development expertise in precision medicine in both oncology and hematology, with previous senior leadership roles at Servier Pharmaceuticals and Agios Pharmaceuticals
• Her appointment follows Atavistik Bio’s recent initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating ATV-1601, an allosteric selective inhibitor for AKT1 E17K-driven solid tumors
• She will also play a critical role in advancing the company’s preclinical pipeline programs toward the clinic

Cambridge, Mass., September 15, 2025 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Susan Pandya, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Pandya brings 20 years of drug development experience including successful regulatory approvals. She has a track record of building and leading highly effective teams and delivering novel precision medicines for unmet patient needs. As CMO, Dr. Pandya will lead all clinical development strategy and execution for Atavistik Bio, including the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of its lead program, ATV-1601, an allosteric selective inhibitor for AKT1 E17K-driven solid tumors. She will also play a central role in advancing the company’s preclinical pipeline into efficient and well-designed clinical trials.

“We are very excited to welcome Susan to the Atavistik Bio team as we transition to a clinical stage organization,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer at Atavistik Bio. “Susan’s expertise in guiding oncology programs through early development, global registration studies, and marketing approval will be instrumental as we progress the ongoing clinical study of our lead precision allosteric candidate, ATV-1601, while continuing to rapidly advance our other pipeline programs toward the clinic.”

“Atavistik Bio’s commitment to discovering and developing both best-in-class and first-in-class allosteric therapeutics for significantly underserved patient populations represents an important advancement in the field of precision oncology medicine,” said Dr. Pandya. “I am thrilled to join this exceptional team at such a pivotal time for the company, and I look forward to helping advance this exciting portfolio of novel precision allosteric therapeutics for patients in dire need of new therapeutic options.”
Dr. Pandya most recently served as Vice President, Clinical Development and Global Head of late-stage oncology at Servier Pharmaceuticals where she led all late-stage clinical development programs in oncology and hematology and played an integral role in corporate business development and portfolio strategy. Before joining Servier, Dr. Pandya led the clinical development of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) inhibitor portfolio at Agios Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Servier in 2021 and oversaw multiple global drug approvals across a range of oncology indications. Earlier in her career, she focused on early-phase development at Acceleron Pharma.

Dr. Pandya earned her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in hematology/oncology and held a clinical practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She also serves on the Board of Directors of MOMA Therapeutics.

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company accelerating the discovery and development of transformative precision allosteric therapeutics to address serious unmet patient needs. Since its inception, Atavistik Bio has rapidly established an emerging pipeline of allosteric therapeutics with the potential to achieve superior efficacy and tolerability profiles by leveraging the power of allostery. Atavistik Bio is currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of ATV-1601, an allosteric selective inhibitor for solid tumors.

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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

 

• ATV-1601 is a first-in-class allosteric selective inhibitor of AKT1 E17K
• Pan-AKT inhibitors offer limited efficacy for patients with AKT1 E17K-driven mutant tumors due to insufficient inhibition of the AKT1 E17K mutation and AKT2-driven tolerability issues
• In preclinical studies, ATV-1601 has demonstrated enhanced target inhibition, superior efficacy, and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors

Cambridge, Mass., August 4, 2025 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced the dosing of the first patient in its Phase 1 study of ATV-1601 in adults with AKT1 E17K-mutant solid tumors.

ATV-1601 is a first-in-class selective inhibitor of AKT1 E17K, which leverages a reversible allosteric mechanism of action. Preclinically, ATV-1601 has demonstrated greater target engagement, superior efficacy, and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors. AKT1 E17K is a clinically validated oncogene that impacts greater than 40,000 cancer patients per year in the United States, with the highest prevalence in breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers. In addition, early evidence indicates that the AKT1 E17K mutation appears to be an emerging mechanism of resistance to PI3Kα-targeted cancer therapies. A selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor has the potential to be a transformative therapy against the validated AKT1 E17K oncogenic driver.

“Dosing the initial patient in our first-in-human study of ATV-1601 represents a significant milestone as we transition to a clinical stage biotechnology company and an important step forward in our efforts to develop innovative treatments for patients,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer at Atavistik Bio. “As a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, ATV-1601 has generated a highly differentiated preclinical profile, which we believe has the potential to address significant unmet need for patients. We look forward to evaluating ATV-1601 in the clinic and moving rapidly toward early proof-of-concept data for this program.”

The only approved AKT-targeted therapy is a pan-AKT inhibitor that blocks all three isoforms of AKT (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3). Pan-AKT inhibitors offer limited efficacy for patients with AKT1 E17K-driven mutant tumors due to insufficient inhibition of the AKT1 E17K mutation. Additionally, pan-AKT inhibitors can cause significant adverse events, which leads to treatment discontinuation or dose-reductions in a considerable subset of patients. As a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, ATV-1601 has the potential to provide greater efficacy and tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors for AKT1 E17K-driven cancers.

The first-in-human, open-label Phase 1a/1b study (NCT07038369) will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity of ATV-1601 as monotherapy in participants with advanced or metastatic AKT1 E17K-mutant solid tumors, and in combination with fulvestrant in participants with AKT1 E17K-mutant HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. The Phase 1 study has a dose escalation and expansion phase with AKT-1601 monotherapy, and an escalation and expansion phase with AKT-1601 in combination with fulvestrant.

ATV-1601 was developed leveraging Atavistik Bio’s AMPS™ technology, which is seamlessly integrated with its AI-enabled drug discovery engine to rapidly advance programs from discovery into development. Atavistik Bio is advancing a pipeline of precision allosteric oncology candidates, all discovered in-house, against a broad range of target classes.

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company accelerating the discovery and development of transformative precision allosteric therapeutics to address serious unmet patient needs. Since its inception, Atavistik Bio has rapidly established an emerging pipeline of allosteric therapeutics with the potential to achieve superior efficacy and tolerability profiles by leveraging the power of allostery. Atavistik Bio is currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial of ATV-1601, a selective allosteric inhibitor for solid tumors.

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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Dr. William Sellers is a leading cancer researcher who currently serves as a Core Institute member and Director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute and a professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School
• He brings deep expertise and experience in cancer biology and cancer therapeutics to Atavistik Bio as the company advances its pipeline of precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics

Cambridge, Mass., March 31, 2025 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced that it has appointed renowned cancer scientist William Sellers, M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Sellers joins Atavistik Bio as the company rapidly advances a pipeline of next generation allosteric small molecules for high-value clinically validated targets that have the potential to address significant unmet needs.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Bill Sellers to our SAB at this pivotal moment for the company as we advance our pipeline and transition to the clinic with ATV-1601, a selective inhibitor targeting AKT1 E17K driven cancers,” said Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer, Atavistik Bio. “As an accomplished industry and academic leader, Bill’s many contributions have led to a deeper understanding of cancer biology and cancer genomics that, in turn, has yielded transformative therapeutic advancements for patients. With his extensive experience in oncology, Bill will provide invaluable guidance as we work to develop innovative therapies and advance our pipeline of next-generation precision allosteric therapeutics for patients.”

“Precision small molecule medicines have transformed the cancer treatment landscape, resulting in better outcomes for many patients. Despite this notable progress, as we continually unfold the relentless intricacies of cancer biology, we have only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” said Dr. Sellers. “I am impressed with Atavistik Bio’s pipeline and novel approach to discover next-generation precision small molecule medicines that leverage the power of allostery, and I look forward to helping further the team’s pursuit of high-value targets aimed at addressing serious unmet needs.”

Dr. Sellers currently serves as a core institute member and director of the cancer program at the Broad Institute and a professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. At the Broad Institute, Dr. Sellers directs a research group focused on translating genomic discoveries into new therapeutics.

Previously, Dr. Sellers directed cancer drug discovery and early cancer clinical development at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research. Prior to joining Novartis, Dr. Sellers was an associate professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School and an associate member of the Broad Institute.

Dr. Sellers has spent his academic career at the intersection of cancer biology and cancer genomics, investigating the basic mechanisms of tumor development. He collaborated with his Dana-Farber and Broad colleague Matthew Meyerson to lead the Broad’s first major foray into cancer genome sequencing. Their work, as well as work by other groups including investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital, led to the identification of EGFR mutations in lung cancer – work that paved the way for EGFR-inhibiting drugs becoming standard-of-care for patients.

Among other achievements in his career, Dr. Sellers was the founder of Civetta Therapeutics, a co-founder of Delphia Therapeutics and currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Ideaya Bioscience and Epidarex Capital. Additionally, Dr. Sellers was a previous member of the National Cancer Advisory Board.

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. Since its inception, Atavistik Bio has rapidly established an emerging pipeline of allosteric therapeutics with the potential to achieve superior efficacy and tolerability profiles by leveraging the power of allostery. ATV-1601, a selective allosteric inhibitor for solid tumors, is anticipated to enter the clinic in early 2025. 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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Collaboration will leverage Atavistik Bio’s proprietary AMPS™ platform to rapidly identify and validate novel allosteric binders against two undisclosed, Pfizer-designated targets
• Atavistik Bio has rapidly identified novel, functional, allosteric binding pockets across a broad range of intractable target classes
• Collaboration with Pfizer will enable Atavistik Bio to extend the reach of its platform to potentially address a broader range of oncology indications, while simultaneously progressing its internal pipeline of precision oncology small molecule therapies

Cambridge, Mass., January 2, 2025 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company committed to discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to accelerate the discovery of novel precision allosteric therapeutics to address significant unmet medical needs.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Atavistik Bio will leverage its proprietary AMPS™ platform to identify novel allosteric binders against two undisclosed, targets selected by Pfizer. At the completion of the research period, Pfizer will have the option to license the programs. The financial terms of the collaboration are undisclosed.

“Allostery holds the key to targeting disease-causing proteins and delivering highly selective, better tolerated, and more effective therapies. We’re excited to collaborate with Pfizer to harness the tremendous promise of allostery to advance the opportunity for therapeutic innovations for patients in need,” said Bryan Stuart, CEO of Atavistik Bio. “Our internal pipeline has been enabled by our ability to identify novel, functional allosteric binding pockets that allow us to rapidly progress novel chemical matter. We look forward to applying the efficiency and productivity of our platform to our collaboration with Pfizer as we simultaneously advance our internal pipeline of precision oncology small molecule therapies.”

About Atavistik’s Platform

Atavistik Bio’s proprietary AMPS™ platform is a highly integrated discovery engine that combines proprietary computational and experimental techniques to rapidly unlock functional cryptic pockets across a broad range of target classes. By leveraging insights from these novel allosteric chemical starting points, the platform enables the design of small molecules against historically challenging targets. Our highly integrated team and automated data infrastructure makes rapid iteration and progression of chemistry possible, while the versatility of its platform allows the company to accelerate the development of groundbreaking medicines across any therapeutic area.

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. Since its inception, Atavistik Bio has rapidly established an emerging pipeline of allosteric therapeutics with the potential to achieve superior efficacy and tolerability profiles by leveraging the power of allostery. ATV-1601, a selective allosteric inhibitor for solid tumors, is anticipated to enter the clinic in early 2025. 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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

 

• Data demonstrate that ATV-1601, a selective allosteric inhibitor of AKT1 E17K, provides enhanced target inhibition, superior efficacy and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors in preclinical models
• Atavistik Bio anticipates initiating a first-in-human study with ATV-1601 in patients with AKT1 E17K mutant tumors in early 2025

Cambridge, Mass., October 23, 2024 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today presented preclinical data at the 36^th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting 2024 in Barcelona for ATV-1601, the company’s orally bioavailable selective allosteric small molecule inhibitor for AKT1 E17K-driven cancers. The preclinical data demonstrated that as a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, ATV-1601 provides enhanced target inhibition, superior efficacy and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors in preclinical models. Atavistik Bio anticipates initiating a first-in-human study with ATV-1601 in patients with AKT1 E17K mutant tumors in early 2025.

AKT1 E17K is a clinically validated oncogene that impacts greater than 40,000 cancer patients per year in the United States, with the highest prevalence in breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers. In addition, early evidence indicates that the AKT1 E17K mutation appears to be an emerging mechanism of resistance to PI3Kα-targeted cancer therapies. The only approved AKT-targeted therapy is a pan-AKT inhibitor that blocks all three isoforms of AKT (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3). Pan-AKT inhibitors offer limited efficacy for patients with AKT1 E17K-driven mutant tumors due to insufficient inhibition of the AKT1 E17K mutation. Additionally, pan-AKT inhibitors can cause significant adverse events, such as AKT2-driven hyperglycemia, rash, and diarrhea, which lead to treatment discontinuation or dose reductions in a considerable subset of patients.

Data presented in today’s poster entitled, “ATV-1601 is a Potent and Selective Allosteric Inhibitor of AKT1 E17K and Shows Profound and Durable Regressions in AKT1 E17K-Driven Patient-Derived Xenograft Models,” demonstrates that the selectivity profile of ATV-1601 enables greater than 90% target engagement without inducing hyperglycemia in preclinical models. As a result of this potent target engagement and selectivity, ATV-1601 demonstrated profound and durable tumor regression in multiple AKT1 E17K driven patient-derived breast and endometrial tumor models and was well tolerated.

“We are pleased to share these exciting preclinical data for our ATV-1601 program with the oncology community,” said Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer, Atavistik Bio. “As a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, ATV-1601 has the potential to be a transformative precision therapy against the validated AKT1 E17K oncogenic driver. The patient populations impacted by the AKT1 E17K mutation have a significant unmet need, which we are working with urgency to address. We look forward to transitioning into the clinic in our planned first-in-human study.”

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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• AKT1 E17K mutation is a clinically validated oncogene that impacts greater than 40,000 cancer patients per year in the United States, with the highest prevalence in breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers
• As a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, ATV-1601 has the potential to provide enhanced target inhibition, superior efficacy and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors
• Atavistik Bio anticipates initiating a first-in-human study with ATV-1601 in patients with AKT1 E17K mutant tumors in early 2025
• Preclinical data on ATV-1601 to be presented at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on October 23, 2024
• The company continues to leverage the AMPS^TM platform to bring forward additional high-value precision oncology programs

Cambridge, Mass., October 15, 2024 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced its precision oncology development candidate ATV-1601, an orally bioavailable selective allosteric small molecule inhibitor for AKT1 E17K-driven cancers. ATV-1601 was developed leveraging the company’s AMPS^TM technology, which is seamlessly integrated with its AI-enabled drug discovery engine to rapidly advance programs from discovery into development.

“ATV-1601’s nomination as our first oncology development candidate is a major milestone for the company, validating the capabilities of our proprietary platform to rapidly discover and advance novel precision allosteric therapeutics for targets that have historically been hard to drug. We anticipate significant progress in our portfolio in the upcoming year for high value oncology targets that address the unmet needs of large patient populations,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer, Atavistik Bio. “We are working to quickly advance ATV-1601 to the clinic and to achieve early clinical proof of concept for this program. We believe our precision allosteric small molecule offers several advantages to target the difficult-to-drug AKT1 E17K mutation, with the potential to improve the lives of many cancer patients.”

AKT1 E17K mutation is a clinically validated oncogene that impacts greater than 40,000 cancer patients per year in the United States, with the highest prevalence in breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers. In addition, early evidence indicates that the AKT1 E17K mutation appears to be an emerging mechanism of resistance to PI3Kα-targeted cancer therapies. A selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor has the potential to be a transformative therapy against the validated AKT1 E17K oncogenic driver as well as resistance mutations emerging from PI3Kα-targeted therapies.

The only approved AKT-targeted therapy is a pan-AKT inhibitor that blocks all three isoforms of AKT (AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3). Pan-AKT inhibitors offer limited efficacy for patients with AKT1 E17K-driven mutant tumors due to insufficient inhibition of the AKT1 E17K mutation. Additionally, pan-AKT inhibitors can cause significant adverse events, such as AKT2-driven hyperglycemia, rash, and diarrhea, which leads to treatment discontinuation or dose-reductions in a considerable subset of patients. ATV-1601, a selective allosteric AKT1 E17K inhibitor, has the potential to provide enhanced target inhibition, superior efficacy and improved tolerability compared to pan-AKT inhibitors for AKT1 E17K-driven cancers. Atavistik Bio anticipates initiating a first-in-human study with ATV-1601 in patients with AKT1 E17K-mutant tumors in early 2025.

“Behind ATV-1601, we have a robust pipeline of precision oncology programs derived from our AMPS platform, said Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer, Atavistik Bio. “We look forward to advancing our internal pipeline with urgency while also broadening the reach of our platform through partnerships to discover important new allosteric therapeutics across other diseases.”

Atavistik Bio EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium Data Presentation Details

Date: Wed., October 23, 2024
Time: 12.00 – 19.00 CET
Poster Session: New Drugs
Poster Title: ATV-1601 is a Potent and Selective Allosteric Inhibitor of AKT1 E17K and Shows Profound and Durable Regressions in AKT1 E17K-Driven Patient-Derived Xenograft Models
Poster #: PB128

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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Dr. Hirmand brings more than 20 years of clinical development expertise as Atavistik Bio continues to advance its portfolio of oncology-focused precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics into the clinic

Cambridge, Mass., September 25, 2024 – 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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Dr. Bruno will leverage his diverse industry and scientific expertise to lead Atavistik Bio’s strategic business and corporate development efforts
• Atavistik Bio continues to advance its portfolio of oncology-focused precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics toward the clinic while pursuing a robust partnering strategy to maximize the broad potential of its platform across therapeutic areas

Cambridge, Mass., August 12, 2024 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced the appointment of Paul Bruno, Ph.D., as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Bruno will lead strategic execution of Atavistik Bio’s business and corporate development efforts as the company advances its portfolio of oncology-focused precision allosteric small molecule candidates toward the clinic and leverages its platform to address a broad spectrum of diseases.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Paul Bruno as Chief Business Officer and strengthen our leadership team with this critical role,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer at Atavistik Bio. “Paul’s business and corporate development acumen, scientific aptitude, collaborative approach, and authentic desire to help patients make him an extraordinary addition to our team. As we approach key upcoming milestones, both advancing our internal pipeline of precision allosteric product candidates and expanding our partnering initiatives to mine the expansive potential of our platform, I look forward to Paul’s leadership and impact.”

“I’m excited to join the highly experienced Atavistik Bio team and contribute to the company’s mission of delivering a new generation of allosteric medicines to address serious unmet patient needs,” said Dr. Bruno. “Allostery holds the key to targeting numerous disease-causing proteins that, to date, have been intractable. I’m extremely impressed with Atavistik Bio’s success leveraging its proprietary platform to rapidly progress programs towards the clinic and build a high-value oncology pipeline. I believe Atavistik Bio is poised to transform the lives of countless patients in the years ahead through a powerful combination of internal and partnered programs.”

Dr. Bruno joins Atavistik Bio from Fulcrum Therapeutics, Inc., where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Business and Corporate Development. While at Fulcrum, Paul successfully executed several licensing and financing transactions, including the collaboration and license agreement with Sanofi in May 2024. Prior to Fulcrum, Dr. Bruno was at ClearView Healthcare Partners, a life sciences strategy firm that specializes in working with biotech, pharma, and medtech companies. At ClearView, he worked with clients on corporate strategy, portfolio management, pipeline prioritization, and business development engagements.

Dr. Bruno received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He also holds a BS from Santa Clara University, where he double majored in chemistry and public health.

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.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Proceeds will support lead precision oncology program into the clinic and advance earlier stage pipeline
• Atavistik Bio is discovering transformative precision allosteric small molecule therapeutics for genetically validated targets by leveraging the body’s natural regulators
• Internally focused on precision oncology and rare diseases; plans to work with partners to maximize the broad therapeutic potential of its novel approach to identify regulators of protein and RNA function

Cambridge, Mass., December 19, 2023 – Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company discovering the next generation of precision allosteric therapeutics inspired by the body’s natural regulators, today announced that it has raised an additional $40 million to advance its lead precision allosteric small molecule therapeutic in oncology into the clinic and to advance its earlier stage pipeline. The financing included existing investors, including The Column Group, Lux Capital, and Nextech Invest, Ltd. Atavistik Bio has raised $100 million in aggregate since its launch in August 2021.

“We’ve made tremendous progress identifying functional pockets of validated targets and have accelerated the development of precision allosteric therapeutics. Key to our success has been our outstanding team with the know-how and proven track record of discovering and developing transformative medicines,” said Bryan Stuart, Chief Executive Officer at Atavistik Bio. “We’re grateful to our investors for their continued support of our mission. We look forward to using the proceeds from this raise to advance our lead program into the clinic and progress our additional programs and platform.”

“Allostery continues to gain traction given its potential to modulate intractable targets and to offer better tolerated, more effective therapies for current sub-optimally treated diseases,” said John Josey, Ph.D., Venture Partner at The Column Group and Atavistik Bio’s Board Chair. “In a short period of time, Atavistik Bio has quickly identified novel allosteric binding pockets in a broad range of targets and built a deep discovery pipeline. We believe that Atavistik Bio’s differentiated approach to identify chemical matter against challenging and valuable targets presents a compelling opportunity to bring important new, allosteric medicines to patients across a broad spectrum of disease areas.”

Atavistik Bio seamlessly integrates its proprietary Atavistik Metabolite-Protein Screening (AMPS) technology with its AI-enabled discovery engine to rapidly advance programs from discovery into development. AMPS efficiently uncovers cryptic functional pockets not detectable with other techniques. It accomplishes this by leveraging metabolites, which are natural regulators of protein and RNA function in the body, as ‘bait’ to reveal otherwise hidden allosteric binding pockets on target proteins and functional sites on RNA. Atavistik Bio then applies its state-of-the-art, proprietary AI-enabled drug discovery engine to discover and design small molecules, enabling the rapid advancement of allosteric precision therapeutics.

Employing this integrated approach, Atavistik Bio has successfully and rapidly identified functional binding pockets for the development of small molecule therapeutics across a broad range of target classes, including kinases, enzymes, receptors, transcription factors, as well as protein complexes and RNA, and translated these insights into a robust discovery pipeline. The company’s internal efforts are focused on oncology and rare diseases. It intends to leverage partnerships to extend the reach of its platform to other therapeutic areas, including metabolic and cardiovascular disease, inflammation and immunology disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio is focused on unlocking hidden functional pockets to discover transformative allosteric precision therapeutics to address serious unmet patient needs. By integrating our propriety screening technology using the body’s natural regulators, with our powerful AI-enabled drug discovery platform, we are able to efficiently identify novel, biologically relevant allosteric sites for protein or RNA targets, and rapidly advance structural insights into small molecule therapeutics design.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
Melone Communications, LLC
liz@melonecomm.com

• Mr. Stuart brings more than 25 years of biopharma executive leadership, corporate strategy, and business development experience to guide Atavistik Bio’s advancing discovery pipeline
• Jeff Goater, interim CEO and venture partner at The Column Group, will continue to serve on Atavistik Bio’s Board of Directors
• Atavistik Bio is pioneering a systematic, scalable approach to revolutionize small molecule drug discovery by identifying and harnessing highly conserved protein-metabolite interactions

Cambridge, MA – July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Atavistik Bio, a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative small molecule therapeutics by revolutionizing the discovery and interrogation of new allosteric protein-metabolite interactions with its AMPS platform, today announced the appointment of Bryan Stuart as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Director on the company’s Board. Mr. Stuart will succeed Jeff Goater, a venture partner at The Column Group, who has served as interim CEO of Atavistik Bio since January 2022 and will continue to serve as a Director on Atavistik Bio’s Board.

“We are delighted to welcome Bryan as CEO to steer the exciting growth ahead for Atavistik Bio,” said Dr. John Josey, Atavistik Bio’s Board Chair. “With Bryan’s proven track record stewarding candidates from the clinic to commercialization, we are confident he is the right person to lead Atavistik Bio into its next critical stage. We are extremely grateful to have had Jeff’s insightful leadership during the planned interim period and look forward to his continued contributions as a member of the Board.”

Mr. Stuart commented, “I am extremely excited to join Atavistik Bio as CEO. Atavistik is poised to be a true disruptor in small molecule drug discovery with the tremendous progress and validation of the AMPS platform. AMPS has now demonstrated a reproducible ability to interrogate protein-metabolite interactions to unlock functional allosteric binding sites, and then engineer novel small molecules to elicit the desired therapeutic effect. This creates the opportunity for tremendous impact across many diseases. I look forward to working with the Board and the exceptional Atavistik Bio team to continue the company’s mission of delivering transformative medicines to improve patients’ lives.”

Mr. Stuart was most recently CEO of Fulcrum Therapeutics, where he initially served as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Fulcrum, he served as president and CEO of Yarra Therapeutics (a subsidiary of Array BioPharma) and CEO of Kastle Therapeutics; both companies focused on developing therapies for rare and severe diseases. Previously, Mr. Stuart served as Chief Business Officer of Civitas Therapeutics (acquired by Acorda Therapeutics) and also led business development, corporate development and strategy at both EKR Therapeutics (acquired by Chiesi Farmaceutici) and Ovation Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck A/S). Mr. Stuart earned his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois.

“I’m proud of the remarkable progress that the Atavistik Bio team has made in such a short period,” said Mr. Goater. “The advancement of our precision medicine candidates for cancer and inborn errors of metabolism has created a tremendous opportunity to extend the reach of the AMPS platform in these therapeutic areas and many others. Bryan’s extensive corporate strategy and development experience further entrench him as an ideal leader for the company. I look forward to working with Bryan, the Atavistik Bio team, and my fellow Board members as the Atavistik Bio story continues to unfold.”

About Atavistik Bio

Atavistik Bio, located in Cambridge, MA, is pioneering a systematic, scalable approach to identify and harness highly conserved protein-metabolite interactions to revolutionize small molecule drug discovery. Combined, our AMPS and structure-based drug design platforms leverage advanced data analytics and AI to unlock functional allosteric binding sites and engineer novel, highly specific small molecule drugs to activate, inhibit or stabilize targets. Our breakthrough approach has the potential to deliver transformative medicines for patients across a broad range of diseases, with an initial internal development focus on precision medicines for cancer and inborn errors of metabolism.

For more information, visit atavistikbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Liz Melone
liz@melonecomm.com