Atossa Therapeutics Appoints Breast Cancer Specialist Tessa Cigler, M.D., M.P.H. to its Board of Directors

SEATTLE, March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS) (“Atossa” or the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need in oncology with a focus on breast cancer, today announced that Tessa Cigler, M.D., M.P.H. was appointed to Atossa’s board of directors, effective immediately. Dr. Cigler is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator at the Weill Cornell Breast Center in New York City.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Cigler to our board of directors,” said Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Atossa’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Tessa works daily with breast cancer patients and knows firsthand the critical need for more effective and tolerable treatment options. We look forward to leveraging both her clinical trial and patient care experience to further accelerate our (Z)-endoxifen development program, which currently includes four Phase 2 trials, two of which we expect to readout primary data in the second half of this year.”

Dr. Cigler added, “I am excited to join the Atossa Therapeutics board and look forward to furthering the Company’s mission to prevent breast cancer, as well as to improve treatment options and outcomes for individuals diagnosed with the disease. While progress has been made over the past decade, breast cancer remains a deadly disease for hundreds of thousands of women globally each year. Current treatments are often limited by side effects. I believe (Z)-endoxifen has the potential to transform care, as a well-tolerated, safe, and effective breast cancer prevention and treatment agent.”

Dr. Cigler received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and her M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine. She also holds a Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center. Dr. Cigler joined the Cornell faculty in August 2007 as a medical oncologist and clinical investigator at the Weill Cornell Breast Center. At Weill Cornell, she heads several clinical trials designed to provide patients with access to new and promising options for therapy and supportive care.