Arbutus Appoints Melissa V. Rewolinski, PhD to its Board of Directors

WARMINSTER, Pa., July 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS) (“Arbutus” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases, today announced the appointment of Melissa V. Rewolinski, PhD, to its board of directors, effective July 12, 2023.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Rewolinski to the Arbutus Board,” said William Collier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbutus. “Dr. Rewolinski brings more than 20 years of strategic, operational and drug development experience within the pharmaceutical industry. We look forward to relying on her counsel and expertise as we continue to advance our pipeline of assets directed towards a functional cure for HBV and novel treatment options for coronavirus.”

Dr. Rewolinski currently serves as principal of MVR Consulting, where she specializes in providing counsel to small and mid-size biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Earlier she held a number of senior level R&D positions for Intercept, rising to Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Operations, and member of the Executive Team. Previously, she served as Senior Director, Development for Amira Pharmaceuticals, and before that as a Chemical Development Group Leader and a Pharmaceutical Sciences Project Team Leader for Pfizer Global R&D. Dr. Rewolinski began her career at Pharmacia & Upjohn as a post-doctoral research scientist. She currently serves as a board member for Lannett Company, Inc., and American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). Dr. Rewolinski earned a doctorate degree in organic chemistry and Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, magna cum laude, from Rice University.

Dr. Rewolinski, commented, “This is an exciting time to join the Board of Arbutus. I look forward to working with my fellow Board members to support Arbutus in its continued efforts to develop treatments for HBV and coronaviruses.”  

About Arbutus

Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases. Our current focus areas include Hepatitis B virus (HBV), SARS-CoV-2, and other coronaviruses. To address HBV, we are developing a RNAi therapeutic, an oral PD-L1 inhibitor, and an oral RNA destabilizer to potentially identify a combination regimen with the aim of providing a functional cure for patients with chronic HBV by suppressing viral replication, reducing surface antigen and reawakening the immune system. We believe our lead compound, AB-729, is the only RNAi therapeutic with evidence of immune re-awakening. AB-729 is currently being evaluated in multiple phase 2 clinical trials. We also have an ongoing drug discovery and development program directed to identifying novel, orally active agents for treating coronaviruses, (including SARS-CoV-2), for which we have nominated a compound and have begun IND-enabling pre-clinical studies. In addition, we are also exploring oncology applications for our internal PD-L1 portfolio. For more information, visit www.arbutusbio.com.