Press Release
AviadoBio Announces Appointment of Jeff Goater as Chair of the Board of Directors
London, UK; February 1, 2023 – AviadoBio, a pioneering, pre-clinical stage gene therapy company focused on developing and delivering transformative medicines for people with neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the appointment of Jeff Goater as Chair of the AviadoBio Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Goater brings more than 20 years of biotech industry experience including gene therapy expertise to his role.
“Jeff is an experienced biotech executive with a proven track record of bringing much needed therapies into clinical development,” said Lisa Deschamps, Chief Executive Officer. “With his foundation as a research scientist, Jeff understands the potential impact gene therapies could have on people with neurodegenerative diseases. I look forward to working with him as we continue to advance the development of our gene therapies and delivery technology for frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”
Currently, Mr. Goater serves as a Venture Partner at The Column Group and Interim CEO of Atavistik Bio. In his last position as CEO of Surface Oncology, he fostered an award-winning culture, advanced four programs into clinical development, completed its initial public offering, and secured multiple strategic collaborations, including a transformative partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to his time at Surface, Mr. Goater served as Chief Financial Officer of Voyager Therapeutics where he was a member of the founding management team. Previously, he spent nearly a decade in investment banking, most recently as a Managing Director at Evercore Partners, advising on more than $100 billion in strategic transactions in the biopharma industry.
“I believe in the transformative potential of gene therapy to help those affected by devastating neurodegenerative diseases,” said Jeff Goater. “I am proud to join the AviadoBio team as we strive to apply a novel gene therapy in a way that targets the root cause of disease, bringing new delivery approaches to treating frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”
Mr. Goater began his career as a research scientist in the field of AAV gene therapy and holds master’s degrees in microbiology/immunology, pathology, and business administration from the University of Rochester. Mr. Goater currently serves on the boards of Atavistik Bio, Judo Bio, Kallyope, Ribon Therapeutics and Surface Oncology.
About AviadoBio
AviadoBio’s mission is to develop and deliver potentially transformative gene therapies for people living with devastating neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Through a deep understanding of the brain and suite of proprietary gene therapy platforms and delivery technologies, AviadoBio is working relentlessly to overcome the challenges of delivering the right drug to the right place. Its innovative, neuroanatomy-led approach is designed to maximize the therapeutic potential of gene therapy to halt or potentially reverse neurodegenerative diseases.
AviadoBio was founded on pioneering research from King’s College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute and has a leadership team with extensive gene therapy development, delivery and commercialization experience which uniquely positions the Company for success in bringing transformative medicines to patients.
AviadoBio’s investors include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Monograph Capital, F-Prime Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), Advent Life Sciences, EQT Lifesciences, and LifeArc.
For more information, please visit www.aviadobio.com and follow us at Twitter@AviadoBio and LinkedIn at AviadoBio.
Contact
For Media Enquiries
Farah Speer
SVP, Head of Communications and External Relations
Fspeer@aviadobio.com
+1-312-543-2881
Jenna Kane
Health+Commerce
jennakane@healthandcommerce.com
+1-480-388-9587