Attovia Therapeutics Appoints John W. Smither to Board of Directors
SAN CARLOS, Calif., July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attovia Therapeutics, Inc. ("Attovia" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation biotherapeutics for immune-mediated diseases with high unmet need, today announced the appointment of John W. Smither to its Board of Directors as an independent director and as Chair of the Audit Committee.
"We are pleased to welcome John to our Board," said Tao Fu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Attovia. "John is a proven leader in guiding biotechnology companies through critical stages of development. Having served as Chief Financial Officer across multiple public and private biotechnology companies, John brings an impressive depth of financial leadership, operational excellence, and product approval and launch experience that will be invaluable to us as we advance our pipeline of novel biotherapeutics and prepare Attovia for its next chapter."
Mr. Smither currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of MBX Biosciences (NASDAQ:MBX) and as a senior advisor to Frazier Life Sciences. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer or interim Chief Financial Officer of multiple biotech companies including Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT). He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of NewAmsterdam Pharma (NASDAQ:NAMS), where he chairs the Audit Committee, and of Genelux Corporation (NASDAQ:GNLX), where he chairs the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Audit Committee of eFFECTOR Therapeutics, and of Applied Molecular Transport. Mr. Smither holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles.
"I am excited to join the Attovia Board at this pivotal time for the company," said Mr. Smither. "Attovia has built a differentiated platform and pipeline with meaningful potential, and I look forward to working with Tao, the management team, and my fellow directors to support the Company’s continued progress, financial discipline, and governance as it enters its next stage."
The Company also announced that Yuling Luo, PhD, a co-founder and director, will step down from the Board.
Mr. Fu added, "As the inventor of the ATTOBODY™ technology that Attovia’s platform is built on, Yuling has played an important role in the Company since its founding. Through our close partnership with Alamar Biosciences and his thoughtful leadership on our Board, he was instrumental in shaping the science behind Attovia. We are grateful for all his contributions and look forward to our continued partnership with Alamar through their ultra-sensitive biomarker assay technology."
About Attovia
Attovia is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation biotherapeutics for immune-mediated diseases with high unmet need. All our product candidates have been internally discovered using our ATTOBODY biparatopic biologics platform. Our ATTOBODY platform uses an evolution-driven, high-throughput process which allows for rapid discovery and creation of a high diversity of potential product candidates.
Attovia’s lead programs include ATTO-1310, an anti-IL-31 therapeutic in clinical development for chronic pruritic diseases, ATTO-2306, a bispecific antibody targeting IL-31 and IL-13 in IND-enabling studies for atopic dermatitis and other immune-mediated skin diseases, and ATTO-1091, a trispecific antibody targeting TL1A, IL-23p19, and integrin α4β7 in IND-enabling studies for inflammatory bowel disease. Attovia’s other programs include highly innovative conditional ‘AND’ gated bispecific immune cell survival blockers and multispecifics.
Learn more at www.attovia.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning the Company’s future plans and prospects, any expectations regarding the safety or efficacy of ATTO-1310, ATTO-2306, and ATTO-1091, and other candidates under development, and the ability of such candidates to treat their indications. In addition, when or if used in this press release, the words "may," "could," "should," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "predict" and similar expressions and their variants, as they relate to the Company may identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that actual results, levels of activity, safety, performance or events and circumstances could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the Company’s forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s ability to advance its product candidates and obtain regulatory approval of and ultimately commercialize the such product candidates, the timing and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, the Company’s ability to fund development activities and achieve development goals, its ability to protect its intellectual property, general business and economic conditions, and risks related to the impact on its business of macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect the company’s business and its financial results are detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" included in the Company’s prospectus dated July 14, 2026, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 14, 2026. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Attovia undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Investor and Media Contact
PJ Kelleher
LifeSci Advisors
617-430-7579
pkelleher@lifesciadvisors.com
