Avacta Appoints Brian Hahn as
Chief Financial Officer
- Brian brings 25 years' senior financial and
operational experience, including leading GlycoMimetics' Nasdaq IPO
and financial operations
LONDON and PHILADELPHIA - Jan 13, 2025 - Avacta Therapeutics
(AIM: AVCT), a life sciences company developing next generation peptide
drug conjugates (PDC) targeting powerful anti-tumor payloads
directly to the tumor, today announced the appointment of Brian
Hahn as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Mr Hahn brings more than 25 years
of senior financial and operations
experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including a 15-year
tenure as CFO and Senior Vice President of GlycoMimetics, Inc.,
where he led the company's 2014 initial public offering (IPO) on
Nasdaq and the build-out of its finance, accounting, investor
relations and corporate affairs functions.
He has worked with life science
companies from early stages through product launch, has significant
experience in dealing with US healthcare investors, having been
involved in multiple IPOs and has raised over $700 million in
capital. He has broad experience in developing strategic plans,
business development deals, building strong organizations and
establishing strong accounting and control systems which ensure
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
Mr Hahn currently serves as
co-chairman of the BIO Finance and Tax Committee, as a co-chairman
of the Steering Committee of the Washington, DC chapter of the
Association for Bio Financial Officers (ABFO) and has also served
on the Securities and Exchange Commissions' Advisory Committee on
Small and Emerging Companies. Prior to his
15-year tenure at GlycoMimetics, Mr. Hahn held roles of increasing
financial leadership responsibility, including Executive Director
of Finance at MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (formerly Advancis
Pharmaceutical), and earlier, Senior Accountant with Bering Truck
Corporation.
He received a B.B.A. in Accounting
from Shenandoah University and an M.B.A. from the University of
Maryland.
"Brian brings the ideal combination
of deep public company experience and understanding of the
biotechnology sector that Avacta needs at this transformative
stage," said Christina Coughlin, M.D., Ph.D., Chief
Executive Officer of Avacta. "His
strategic insight and track record of successful financial
leadership in clinical-stage companies will be essential as we
advance our promising pipeline and prepare for our next phase of
growth, including our potential dual
listing on the Nasdaq exchange."
"What drew me
to Avacta was not just the company's innovative technology
platforms. It also has a clear vision for revolutionizing cancer
treatment through targeted therapies that improve outcomes for
patients and their families," commented Brian Hahn.
"The company has built a strong foundation
with its pre|CISION® and Affimer® platforms,
and I look forward to leveraging my experience to help accelerate
Avacta's growth and strengthen its position in both the U.K. and
U.S. capital markets."
-Ends-
For further information from
Avacta, please contact:
About Avacta
- www.avacta.com
Avacta Therapeutics
is a clinical-stage life sciences company expanding the reach of
highly potent cancer therapies with the pre|CISION®
platform. pre|CISION® is a proprietary warhead
delivery system based
on a tumor-specific protease (fibroblast activation protein or
FAP) that is designed to concentrate highly potent warheads in
the tumor microenvironment while sparing normal tissues. Our
innovative pipeline consists of pre|CISION® peptide
drug conjugates (PDC) or Affimer® drug conjugates
(AffDC) that leverage the tumor-specific release mechanism,
providing unique benefits over traditional antibody drug
conjugates.
