SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGS, “Aligos”, the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics to address unmet medical needs in liver and viral diseases, today announced the appointment of Heather Preston, M.D. and Margarita Chavez, J.D. as Class II Independent Directors to the Board of Directors, effective August 7, 2024. Dr. Preston will join the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee as Chair and Ms. Chavez will join the Audit Committee.
“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Heather Preston and Margarita Chavez to our Board of Directors,” stated Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., MBA, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Aligos Therapeutics. “Both Heather and Margarita bring substantial expertise across the life sciences spectrum. We look forward to their important contributions towards ensuring Aligos’s success.”
Heather Preston is an experienced healthcare investor and company builder, with more than 30 years of industry experience. She is currently a Senior Advisor to TPG Biotech and serves on the Boards of Oxford Biomedica (OXB:LSE), Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT:LSE), and Azura Opthalmics. Previously, she was a Managing Partner of Pivotal BioVentures and a Firm Partner and Managing Director of TPG Biotech. She also held investing roles at JP Morgan Partners and New Enterprise Associates. Prior to her investing career, Dr. Preston spent five years at McKinsey & Co, where she was a leader of their pharmaceutical and medical products consulting practice. Dr. Preston has an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of London and a medical degree from the University of Oxford. Dr. Preston completed a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University and trained in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and subspecialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UCSF. During her academic medical career, she was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, a Fulbright Cancer Research Scholarship, a Harlech Scholarship and a Science and Engineering Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award.
“I am thrilled to join the Board at Aligos,” stated Dr. Heather Preston. “This is an exciting time as Aligos has two potential best-in-class oral drugs for MASH and CHB. I look forward to the opportunity of working with the other Board members and the Senior Leadership Team as the Company continues to progress its promising drug candidates through the clinic.”
Margarita Chavez is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive, with over 25 years of dealmaking experience in the healthcare industry. She is currently a Venture Partner at Wellington Partners and is an independent investor and advisor in early-stage biotechs. Margarita also currently serves on the Board of Newron Pharmaceuticals (NWRN:SIX). Margarita was previously Managing Director at AbbVie Ventures and was responsible for investments in Morphic Therapeutics, Alector Therapeutics, Carisma Therapeutics, Jnana Therapeutics, Enthera Pharmaceutials, Palleon Pharmaceuticals, and Accent Therapeutics, among others. As a Director on the Licensing & Acquisitions team of Abbott / AbbVie, Margarita was involved in the in-licensing of Oralissa, and the acquisitions of Immuven and Solvay. Early in her career, Margarita practiced as a corporate and securities lawyer, advising clients on mergers, acquisitions, public and private financings at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP in Silicon Valley. Outside of her venture work, Margarita serves on the Board of Regents at Santa Clara University and on the Board of P33 Chicago.
“I look forward to collaborating with the Board to guide the team at Aligos to continue delivering for shareholders and patients in need,” stated Margarita Chavez, J.D. “Aligos’ dedication to science in order to bring the best drug candidates forward is a mission that I look forward to supporting.”
About Aligos
Aligos Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 2018 with the mission to become a world leader in the treatment of liver and viral diseases. Aligos’ strategy is to harness the deep expertise and decades of drug development experience its team has in liver and viral diseases to discover and develop potentially best-in-class therapeutics for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and viruses with high unmet medical need such as hepatitis B and coronaviruses.
For more information, please visit www.aligos.com or follow us on LinkedIn or X.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts may be considered “forward-looking statements,” including without limitation, statements regarding Aligos’ financial results and performance as well as research and development activities, including regulatory status and the timing of announcements and updates relating to our regulatory filings and clinical trials. Such forward looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our development programs, future results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties inherent in the drug development process, including Aligos’ clinical stage of development, the process of designing and conducting clinical trials, the regulatory approval processes, and other matters that could affect the sufficiency of Aligos’ capital resources to fund operations. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Aligos in general, see Aligos’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024 and its future periodic reports to be filed or submitted with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Aligos undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
