Avidity Biosciences, Inc. announced that Arthur A. Levin, Ph.D. has been appointed to the board of directors of the company and is transitioning from chief scientific officer into the role of distinguished scientist and strategic leader, remaining a key member of Avidity's team. W. Michael Flanagan, Ph.D., has been promoted from chief technical officer to chief scientific and technical officer. Dr. Levin, a member of the board of directors and distinguished scientist and strategic leader at Avidity, has an unparalleled track record and reputation in the field of nucleic acid-based therapeutics.

He is a founding member of Avidity and previously served as Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to his roles at Avidity, he held senior drug development roles at miRagen Therapeutics, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Santaris Pharma. He has played key roles in the development of numerous oligonucleotide therapies including the first approved antisense drugs and the first microRNA-targeted therapeutic to enter clinical trials.

He has a combined three decades of experience in all aspects of drug development from discovery through drug registration, both in large pharmaceutical and smaller biotechnology companies. Dr. Levin has published more than 60 scientific articles and several of the most cited reviews in the field. He served as a director of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society and holds several additional scientific organization affiliations and honors.

He received a doctorate in toxicology from the University of Rochester and a bachelor's degree in biology from Muhlenberg College. Dr. Flanagan, chief scientific and technical officer at Avidity, has extensive experience developing multiple therapeutic modalities, including RNA therapeutics, antibody drug conjugates, and bispecific antibodies. He is responsible for leading the company's research and the technical operations groups.

Prior to joining Avidity, Dr. Flanagan served as senior director and project team leader, oncology and immunology for Genentech, Inc., where he advanced programs through late-stage research to end of Phase 2 development. Prior to Genentech, he served in roles of increasing responsibility in the biology groups at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (which merged with Viracta Therapeutics, Inc. in 2021), Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Merck Co., Inc. where he was senior director of RNA sciences. Dr. Flanagan received a bachelor's degree in genetics from the University of California at Davis, a Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of California at Irvine and was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University.