Aura Biosciences, a clinical-stage oncology company developing a novel class of virus-like drug conjugate (VDC) therapies for multiple oncology indications, today announced the appointment of Sapna Srivastava, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors.

“Sapna is a recognized leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with over two decades of broad experience in corporate and financial strategy,” said David Johnson, Chairman of the Board of Aura Biosciences. “We welcome Sapna to the Board and look forward to her contributions as we look to further build our position as a leader in ocular oncology and expand the research of our VDC technology into additional cancers in need of better treatments to improve patient outcomes.”

“I believe that Aura’s novel approach to treat ocular cancers while preserving vision can transform the treatment paradigm for patients with these life-threatening diseases,” said Dr. Srivastava. “It is a privilege to be joining Aura’s Board of Directors as the Company advances into a pivotal program for the early treatment of choroidal melanoma and prepares for this next phase of growth.”

Dr. Srivastava is currently the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer at eGenesis. Prior to eGenesis, she held similar roles as the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer at Abide Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck) and at Intellia Therapeutics. In these positions, she has played a key role in equity financings including a successful initial public offering, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and shaping the strategic direction of the company. Before Intellia, Dr. Srivastava spent more than a decade on Wall Street as a senior biotechnology analyst for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and ThinkEquity Partners. She began her career as a research associate at J.P. Morgan. Dr. Srivastava received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the New York University School of Medicine and her B.S. in biology from St. Xavier's College at the University of Mumbai.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage oncology company developing a novel technology platform based on virus-like drug conjugates (VDCs) to target and destroy cancer cells selectively while activating the immune system to create long lasting anti-tumor immunity. The VDC technology platform is based on the discoveries of NIH Distinguished Investigator Dr. John Schiller of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The company has the goal of developing this technology in multiple cancer indications with an initial focus in ocular oncology, a group of rare diseases for which there are no approved drugs. Aura’s lead product candidate belzupacap sarotalocan (AU-011) is currently in Phase 2 development for the first line treatment of choroidal melanoma, a vision and life-threatening form of eye cancer where standard of care radioactive treatments leave patients with major vision loss and severe comorbidities. Aura has demonstrated the efficacy and safety of AU-011 in a Phase 1b/2 trial, including high rates of tumor control and vision preservation. Future pipeline applications for Aura’s technology include additional ocular oncology indications like choroidal metastases and solid tumor indications like non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Aura is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information, visit www.aurabiosciences.com or follow us on Twitter.

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