REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADVM), a clinical-stage gene therapy company targeting unmet medical needs in ocular and rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Scott Whitcup, M.D. to the Companys Board of Directors.

We are delighted to welcomeScott to our board, said Patrick Machado, J.D., Board Chair of Adverum Biotechnologies. Scott's expertise and accomplished track record as an ophthalmologist and successful drug developer fit perfectly with Adverum's mission to substantially elevate the standard of clinical care for patients suffering from neovascular AMD and other vision-threatening indications. My colleagues and I all look forward to working with Scott to realize fully the significant potential benefits our technology offers patients at risk of losing their sight.

This is an exciting time to join Adverums Board as the company strategically executes on expanding its pipeline through its novel vector discovery and drug development expertise to commercialize gene therapies to treat patients with serious ocular and rare diseases, said Dr. Whitcup. The development progress of ADVM-022, including the promising clinical data demonstrated to date in the OPTIC trial, has been impressive. I look forward to partnering with the Board, and the Adverum management team, on further developing the pipeline of drug candidates and advancing ADVM-022 towards commercialization for patients with wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy.

Scott Whitcup, M.D. is the founder and chief executive officer of Akrivista and Whitecap Biosciences, two companies focused on developing new therapies in ophthalmology and dermatology. In addition, he is on the clinical faculty at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute. Previously, Dr. Whitcup was the executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer at Allergan, where he led the discovery, clinical development, and medical affairs organizations focused on therapeutic areas including ophthalmology, CNS, urology, dermatology, and medical aesthetics. Earlier at Allergan, he served as vice president and head, ophthalmology therapeutic area, where he secured regulatory approvals for Alphagan P, Lumigan, Restasis, and Ozurdex. Earlier in his career, Dr. Whitcup was the clinical director at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Whitcup earned a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. He completed an internal medicine residency at UCLA and an ophthalmology residency at Harvard University at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Dr. Whitcup serves on the board of directors of Scilex Pharmaceuticals and Anivive Lifesciences.

About Adverum BiotechnologiesAdverum Biotechnologies (Nasdaq: ADVM) is a clinical-stage gene therapy company targeting unmet medical needs in serious ocular and rare diseases. Adverum is evaluating its novel gene therapy candidate, ADVM-022, as a one-time, intravitreal injection for the treatment of its lead indication, wet age-related macular degeneration. For more information, please visit http://www.adverum.com.

Investor and Media Inquiries:Investors:Myesha LacyAdverum Biotechnologies, Inc.mlacy@adverum.com1-650-304-3892

Media:Cherilyn Cecchini, M.D.LifeSci Communicationsccecchini@lifescicomms.com 1-646-876-5196

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Adverum Biotechnologies Appoints Ophthalmology Industry Veteran Scott Whitcup, M.D. to Board of Directors - GlobeNewswire