Representative Scott Peters Visits Avelas Biosciences

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today U.S. Congressional Representative (CA-52) Scott Peters toured Avelas Biosciences, a clinical stage oncology-focused company dedicated to improving cancer patient care from diagnosis through treatment. During the visit, he met with local entrepreneurs from Avelas, Avalon Ventures and COI Pharmaceuticals as well as medical innovators from UCSD.

"It was a privilege to host Representative Peters at Avelas Biosciences today," said Carmine Stengone, president and CEO of Avelas Biosciences. "We appreciate all the work he has done to support medical innovation and the opportunity to showcase our disruptive technology designed to improve cancer surgery and therapeutic targeting. Avelas is a true San Diego biotech innovation story, with San Diego technology, investors, entrepreneurs and medical innovators."

Avelas Biosciences was founded by Avalon Ventures on technology from the lab of Nobel laureate Roger Y. Tsien, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology at UC San Diego. It is headquartered at COI Pharmaceuticals, Avalon's Community Of Innovation. Avelas is developing AVB-620, a fluorescent, cancer "illuminator" that is designed to enable surgeons to distinguish tumor tissue from normal during surgery. AVB-620 is in clinical trials for breast cancer under the leadership of Anne Wallace, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.

"At UC San Diego, we are committed to translating science discovered in the lab to our cancer patients, to providing access to new and often dramatic technologies through early clinical trials," said Dr. Wallace. "This partnership between science, clinicians and the community allows us to help bring forward improvements in cancer care for patients here and around the world."

Representative Peters stated, "Avelas, Avalon and the Community Of Innovation are more examples of San Diego's leadership in the fields of bioscience and biotechnology. The collaborative approach I saw here today is what sets San Diego apart and why the research performed in San Diego is recognized around the world."

Earlier this month, Representative Peters was honored by the Healthcare Leadership Council as a "Champion of Healthcare Innovation" in recognition of his support of patient-centered medical progress.

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. Lead candidate AVB-620 is in phase 1b trials in up to 39 breast cancer patients, assessing safety, pharmacokinetics and fluorescence properties using tissue image analysis. Avelas was founded by Avalon Ventures on technology from Nobel laureate Roger Y. Tsien, Ph.D.  For additional information, please visit www.avelasbio.com.

University of California Disclaimer
The information stated above was prepared by Avelas Biosciences Inc. and reflects solely the opinion of the corporation. Nothing in this statement shall be construed to imply any support or endorsement of Avelas Biosciences, Inc. or any of its products, by The Regents of the University of California, its officers, agents and employees.

SOURCE Avelas Biosciences

Related Links

http://www.avelasbio.com