Aravax Strengthens Board With Two Allergy Industry Veterans As It Prepares PVX108 For Phase 3 Development In Peanut Allergy

Aravax, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation disease-modifying immunotherapies for food allergy, announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Carsten Hellmann, former Chief Executive Officer of ALK-Abelló A/S, and Andrew Oxtoby, former Chief Commercial Officer of Aimmune Therapeutics. The company noted that both appointees bring extensive global experience in pharmaceuticals, with a particular focus on allergy therapeutics and the development and commercialization of treatments in this field.

Andrew Oxtoby brings deep expertise across drug development, fundraising, product launches and corporate transactions in both the United States and Europe. During his time as Chief Commercial Officer at Aimmune Therapeutics, he led the global commercial organization responsible for the U.S. and European launch of Palforzia, the first approved therapy for peanut allergy. Following Aimmune’s acquisition by Nestlé Health Science, he served as President and CEO of Aimmune, where he helped integrate the company into Nestlé Health Science’s pharmaceutical operations and gained further experience in scaling commercial organizations. He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Kalaris Therapeutics, where he continues to focus on developing innovative therapies for retinal diseases.

Carsten Hellmann has extensive leadership experience in the global pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. He served for nearly a decade as President and Chief Executive Officer of ALK-Abelló A/S, a global leader in allergy diagnosis and specific allergen immunotherapy with a strong international presence and significant market valuation. His broader industry background includes senior leadership roles within major pharmaceutical organizations, including serving as a member of the Executive Committee of Sanofi and as Chief Executive Officer of Merial, Sanofi’s animal health division. He currently holds several board positions, including Chairperson of Chanelle Pharma and board member roles at Coloplast and the Danish Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Pascal Hickey, Chief Executive Officer of Aravax, said that the addition of Andrew Oxtoby and Carsten Hellmann marks an important step in strengthening the company’s leadership as it advances toward its next stage of growth. He highlighted their combined experience in both U.S. and European markets, particularly in allergy drug development and commercialization, as highly relevant to Aravax’s future plans. He also noted that these appointments come at a key time as the company prepares for Phase 3 development and awaits results from Phase 2 studies of its lead program, PVX108 for peanut allergy.

Carsten Hellmann commented that developing and commercializing treatments for food allergy remains a complex challenge, requiring not only clinical efficacy but also solutions that meet the needs of patients, physicians and healthcare systems. He added that Aravax’s approach, based on next-generation immunotherapy designed to retrain the immune system to tolerate food allergens, is well positioned to address these needs and potentially offer a safer, more convenient and disease-modifying treatment option.

Andrew Oxtoby stated that food allergy continues to be a growing global health burden with significant medical, social and economic consequences. He expressed confidence in Aravax’s scientific approach, which aims to retrain immune responses to recognize food proteins as harmless. He also noted his experience in the development and launch of the first approved peanut allergy treatment as valuable context as he supports the advancement of PVX108, which has the potential to become an important new treatment option for patients with peanut allergy worldwide.