SEATTLE– Avalyn Pharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on development of improved therapies for life threatening pulmonary diseases, announced today that Marc Schneebaum has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer.
“I am pleased to welcome Marc to Avalyn as our Chief Financial Officer,” said Dr. A. Bruce Montgomery, CEO of Avalyn. “We are preparing to advance our lead drug candidate, inhaled pirfenidone (AP01), into Phase 3 studies, with important implications for the Company’s growth and its strategic and operational needs. Marc’s broad experience in biopharma and other life science organizations, will be quite valuable as we transition to the later stages of development. His specific skills in financing and financial strategy, corporate strategy and business development will be particularly important.”
Most recently, Mr. Schneebaum was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he leveraged Madrigal’s $60 million in liquidity sources as a new public company and thereafter financed over $600 million in equity capital in support of the company’s Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical studies and corporate growth. Prior to Madrigal, Marc was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Synta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing oncology drugs; President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Predictive BioSciences, Inc., a commercial stage oncology diagnostics company; President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Sensors for Medicine and Science, Inc., an emerging medical technology company; Senior Vice President, Finance, Business Development and Administration, and Chief Financial Officer of Genetic Therapy, Inc., a biotechnology company (acquired by Sandoz/Novartis). Mr. Schneebaum was a Vice President at Alex. Brown & Sons Incorporated, a leading investment banking firm, where he participated in a variety of finance and strategic assignments, and he began his career in the accounting and auditing group at KPMG LLP, advancing to Senior Manager in the management consulting group. Mr. Schneebaum served as a director of GenVec, Inc., a publicly-held biopharmaceutical company acquired by Intrexon Corporation, from 2007 to 2017, and as a director of several privately-held life science companies. Mr. Schneebaum earned his degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.
“Avalyn’s innovative therapeutic for IPF may be a breakthrough for patients with this deadly disease,” said Mr. Schneebaum. “I am excited to join Avalyn at this pivotal juncture in development of its pipeline of therapeutics to treat severe respiratory diseases, and I look forward to working with Bruce and the Avalyn team to contribute to the Company’s growth and success.”
