London, UK; December 11, 2023 — AviadoBio, a pioneering gene therapy company dedicated to developing and delivering potentially transformative medicines for neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the appointment of John Isaac, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Previous interim Chief Scientific Officer and AviadoBio co-founder, Professor Chris Shaw, will remain an active member of the leadership team and resume his prior roles as Chief Scientific and Clinical Advisor and Board Observer.

“John has made a significant impact on our research and development team since joining the company earlier this year, as he embraced his role and the AviadoBio culture,” said Lisa Deschamps, CEO. “In 2024, one of our priorities is to build out our leadership team with seasoned biotech and pharmaceutical executives who have the experience and skills needed to transition AviadoBio to a clinical-stage company with a pipeline of strongly differentiated gene therapies and delivery systems for neurodegenerative disorders. Under John’s leadership, and utilizing his extensive research expertise and industry experience, we are one step closer to achieving our pipeline milestones. Together we will continue on our path of working towards the ultimate goal of transforming the lives of people with neurodegenerative disorders that have little to no treatment options today.”

John Isaac joined AviadoBio in July 2023 as SVP, Research and Discovery, to support the development of the company’s research and development team. An internationally recognized neuroscientist, John brings over 30 years of experience in academia, non-profit, and industry to AviadoBio. Prior to his time at AviadoBio, John served as the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Head of Neuroscience, External Innovation at Johnson & Johnson Innovation. In this role he oversaw neuroscience partnerships and assets in EMEA spanning discovery through Phase 2 development, as well as related business development activities, including the spinout of AviadoBio. Prior to that, he held several roles in various organizations, including leading the neuroscience strategy and funding at the Wellcome Trust and at Eli Lilly & Co, where he led a team of labs dedicated to identifying new treatments for psychiatry and neurodegeneration, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.