CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avalyn Pharma Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on development of inhaled therapies for the treatment of life-threatening pulmonary diseases, today announced the appointment of Heather Turner, J.D., former chief executive officer of Carmot Therapeutics, as Chair of its Board of Directors. With the appointment, Niall O’Donnell, Ph.D., Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners and early investor in Avalyn, is stepping down as Chair and from the Board of Directors to transition to a Board Observer role.

“We are thrilled to welcome Heather to the Avalyn team and to her new role as Board Chair,” said Lyn Baranowski, chief executive officer of Avalyn. “As we look ahead, we are excited to tap into Heather’s impressive track record in corporate strategy, finance, business development and operational leadership at top-tier biopharma organizations. Heather has deep experience building companies that are powered to deliver meaningful data catalysts. Her insights will be invaluable as we advance through late-stage development with our lead program, bring our earlier stage programs into the clinic, and evolve our organization to support our future growth plans.” said Lyn Baranowski. “We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to Niall O’Donnell for his extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment to the company, which have been instrumental in guiding us to this pivotal moment in our evolution. As we transition to an independent chair, we honor Niall’s legacy and look forward to the future he helped shape.”

“It’s an honor to join Avalyn’s Board and be a part of their journey of developing a pipeline of transformative inhaled therapies,” said Ms. Turner. “Avalyn’s innovative approach has the potential to reshape respiratory disease treatment. I am eager to leverage my experience to help this team make a meaningful impact on the lives of patients living with rare pulmonary diseases. Avalyn’s broad portfolio has the potential to usher in a new era of therapeutic options for pulmonary fibrosis, and I am excited to contribute to this significant endeavor.”

Heather Turner is a seasoned biopharma executive with over 25 years of legal, operational and strategic leadership experience. Ms. Turner most recently served as chief executive officer and before that as chief operating officer at Carmot Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on metabolic diseases, where she brokered the company’s $3.1 billion acquisition by Roche. Before joining Carmot, Ms. Turned served as Chief Legal Officer at Lyell Immunopharma, a clinical-stage cell therapy company, where she oversaw the execution of the company’s initial public offering, which raised gross proceeds of approximately $425 million. Prior to Lyell, Ms. Turner held variety of roles in legal, operational, and portfolio strategy at Sangamo Therapeutics, Atara Biotherapeutics, and Orexigen Therapeutics. Earlier in her career, she worked as an associate in the corporate securities group at Cooley LLP. Ms. Turner holds a J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. She obtained her B.S. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

About Avalyn Pharma
Avalyn is a biopharmaceutical company developing inhaled therapies for the treatment of rare respiratory diseases including pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases (ILD). Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by scarring of lung tissue, decline in lung function, reduced exercise capacity and quality of life, and is associated with increased mortality. Currently approved therapeutic options slow pulmonary fibrosis progression but are associated with significant toxicities that restrict their use and dosing. Avalyn is developing a pipeline of new inhaled formulations of approved medicines designed to reduce systemic exposure and deliver medication directly to the site of disease. Avalyn’s lead program, AP01, is an optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone, currently being studied in the ongoing MIST Phase 2b Study in progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF). AP01 has been assessed in over 150 individuals with different forms of pulmonary fibrosis and demonstrated clinical proof-of-concept with improved efficacy and safety compared to historical data with existing therapies. Avalyn has initiated a Phase 1b study for its second program, AP02, inhaled nintedanib, that is being developed for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). For more information, please visit avalynpharma.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Investor Contact:
Alex Straus, THRUST
alex@thrustsc.com 
ir@avalynpharma.com 

Media Contact:
Marites Coulter, Deerfield Group
marites.coulter@deerfieldgroup.com 
media@avalynpharma.com