Avelas Biosciences Appoints Steven Chen as Chief Medical Officer

SAN DIEGO, May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelas Biosciences, Inc., a clinical stage oncology-focused company dedicated to improving cancer patient care from diagnosis through treatment, today announced the appointment of Steven Chen, M.D., as chief medical officer of the company. Dr. Chen originally joined Avelas Biosciences in July 2014 as the vice president of clinical affairs.

"Steven's insight as a practicing oncology surgeon has been invaluable to Avelas and his promotion to chief medical officer is thoroughly deserved," said Carmine Stengone, president and CEO of Avelas Biosciences. "He successfully oversaw our positive Phase 1b clinical trial of AVB-620 in breast cancer patients, and I'm confident he will continue to contribute materially to the future success of our company."

Dr. Chen previously served as the chief of breast surgery at UC Davis Medical Center, followed by a position as an associate professor of surgery and as the associate program director of the surgical oncology training program at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. He maintains an active surgical oncology clinical practice in San Diego, while also maintaining clinical research interests in quality of care measures, health outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. Dr. Chen also was recently elected as the president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the country's largest organization for breast surgery.

Dr. Chen received his medical degree and completed general surgery and critical care residencies at the University of Michigan, followed by a surgical oncology fellowship at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. He obtained an MBA at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

About Avelas Biosciences

Avelas Biosciences is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on developing technologies that advance a new standard-of-care for cancer surgery and therapeutic intervention. The company's lead candidate, AVB-620, has completed a Phase 1b clinical trial assessing safety, pharmacokinetics and fluorescence properties using tissue image analysis. The initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial for AVB-620 in breast cancer is expected in the first half of 2017. In addition, the company is advancing a therapeutic program, which utilizes the same technology platform. Avelas was founded by Avalon Ventures on technology from Roger Y. Tsien, Ph.D., co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry. For additional information, please visit www.avelasbio.com.

SOURCE Avelas Biosciences, Inc.

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