Aravive Expands Executive Team with Promotion of Gail McIntyre, PhD, DABT to Chief Scientific Officer

HOUSTON, Feb. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aravive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARAV), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that the company has promoted Gail McIntyre, PhD, DABT to chief scientific officer.

“Aravive continues to work towards its goal of bringing innovative therapies to patients in need, and I am thrilled to further strengthen our executive team with the promotion of Gail to chief scientific officer,” said Jay Shepard, president and chief executive officer. “As a board-certified toxicologist, Gail brings extensive experience in preclinical development and has guided multiple therapies from discovery through approval. We are excited to continue leveraging her skills in this expanded role.”

Gail McIntyre, PhD, DABT has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having focused much of her time moving compounds through lead optimization and preclinical development and onto the market. Dr. McIntyre has worked closely with Aravive since August 2016, most recently serving as company’s senior vice president of research and development. Previously, Dr. McIntyre served as a principal at IntelliDev Consulting and as vice president of development for Meryx. Prior to that, Dr. McIntyre was senior vice president of research at Furiex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. McIntyre has authored more than 30 regulatory submissions with her experience covering multiple therapeutic areas and modalities. Dr. McIntyre is board certified in Clinical Pathology by the American Society of Clinical Pathology. She received her BA in Biology from Merrimack College and earned MS and PhD degrees in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

About Aravive

Aravive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARAV) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies that target important survival pathways for cancer. Aravive’s lead candidate, AVB-S6-500, is a novel, high-affinity, soluble Fc-fusion protein designed to block the activation of the GAS6-AXL signaling pathway by intercepting the binding of GAS6 to its receptor AXL. AXL receptor signaling plays an important role in multiple types of malignancies by promoting metastasis, cancer cell survival, resistance to treatments, and immune suppression. Aravive has initiated the phase 1b portion of a phase 1b/2 clinical trial of AVB-S6-500 combined with standard of care therapies in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, and intends to expand development into additional oncology and fibrotic indications. For more information, please visit

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended), express or implied, concerning the Company's goals, intentions and expectations as to future plans or events, including statements regarding the Company’s goal of bringing innovative therapies to patients in need. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: the contribution of Dr. McIntrye to the Company, the usefulness of circulating free GAS6 as a biomarker of drug activity in the new trial, the Company’s ability to expand development in 2019 into additional tumor types, AVB-S6-500’s ability to have favorable results in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval, including its ability to meet the primary and secondary endpoint for the Phase 1b portion of the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial and show a  clinical benefit against refractory and metastatic cancers; potential delays in the Company's clinical trials due to regulatory requirements or difficulty identifying qualified investigators or enrolling patients; the risk that AVB-S6-500 may cause serious side effects or have properties that delay or prevent regulatory approval or limit its commercial potential; the risk that the Company may encounter difficulties in manufacturing AVB-S6-500; if AVB-S6-500 is approved, risks associated with its market acceptance, including pricing and reimbursement; potential difficulties enforcing the Company's intellectual property rights; the Company's reliance on its licensor of intellectual property and financing needs. The foregoing review of important factors that could cause actual events to differ from expectations should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in the Company's proxy statement/prospectus/information statement filed with the SEC on September 6, 2018, the Company's Form S-4 filed with the SEC on August 3, 2018, as subsequently amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, and recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, each as filed with or furnished to the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking.

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