Avidity NanoMedicines, a US biopharmaceutical company based in La Jolla, CA that is pioneering a new class of precision nanomedicines for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, has announced the arrival of Andrew Geall, as Vice President, Formulations and Chemistry.
Avidity is developing targeted, polymeric nanoparticles that encapsulate siRNA, miRNA or mRNA drug payloads to treat areas of major unmet medical need, with a primary focus in oncology. These self-assembling nanoparticles can be decorated with a variety of targeting agents, including antibodies, antibody fragments, proteins, peptides and small molecules that bind extracellular receptors and facilitate cellular uptake. The payload of each particle is composed of hundreds to thousands of oligonucleotides that can precisely target driver oncogenes, oncogenic pathways and/or resistance mechanisms.
Geall brings more than 12 years of industry experience in making nanoparticle delivery systems for siRNA, mRNA and pDNA.
Prior to joining Avidity he was RNA Vaccine Platform Leader at Novartis Vaccines, where he pioneered the exploration of self-amplifying mRNA vaccines as a novel synthetic nucleic acid platform technology.
