Avilar Therapeutics Names Leslie Meltzer, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer
WATERTOWN, Mass.--( BUSINESS WIRE)-- Avilar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering extracellular protein degradation through its ATAC (ASGPR Targeting Chimera) platform, today announced the appointment of Leslie Meltzer, Ph.D. as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Meltzer will also join Avilar's Board of Directors.
Dr. Meltzer joins Avilar as the company advances its lead ATAC program toward the clinic. The program is an ATAC designed to rapidly and selectively degrade circulating sFlt1, a key driver of preeclampsia, an important women’s health issue of high unmet need. The sFlt1 ATAC is progressing alongside additional programs targeting IgM, ApoB, and IgG.
“Avilar has built a broad extracellular protein degradation platform with the potential to address a wide range of diseases driven by pathogenic circulating proteins, from our lead ATAC program targeting sFlt1 in preeclampsia to our IgM-targeting ATAC program for anti-MAG neuropathy and other IgM-mediated diseases, and our work developing oral ATAC degraders,” said Milind Deshpande, Chair of Avilar’s Board of Directors. “Leslie has spent her career advancing innovative therapies across the full spectrum from development through approval and commercialization, and we are confident this experience makes her the right leader for Avilar’s next phase.”
Dr. Meltzer brings deep expertise developing treatments for complex diseases across a range of therapeutic areas and modalities and is a veteran of two strategic acquisitions. Most recently, she was Chief Research and Development Officer at Apellis Pharmaceuticals, where she led strategic prioritization of the company’s immunology pipeline assets and helped lead the acquisition of Apellis by Biogen in 2026. Previously, she was Chief Medical Officer at Orchard Therapeutics, where she advanced the company's gene therapy pipeline for rare pediatric neurometabolic diseases and secured FDA approval of LENMELDY™ for metachromatic leukodystrophy. Dr. Meltzer was a key figure in Orchard’s acquisition by Kyowa Kirin in 2024. Dr. Meltzer has also held leadership roles at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Biogen, and Actelion Pharmaceuticals, building and leading Medical Affairs teams that shaped launch strategies and expanded scientific engagement. Dr. Meltzer holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in biology and neuroscience from Brandeis University.
“I’ve spent my career advancing therapies for complex diseases where patients and their families have significant unmet needs. Avilar is pursuing extracellular targets and diseases where current treatments fall short or are not available, and this is exactly where Avilar’s ATAC degradation approach has the potential to offer meaningful advantages. I am excited to work with the Avilar team to advance the company’s innovative pipeline into the clinic and, ultimately, bring new treatment options to patients,” said Dr. Meltzer.
About Avilar Therapeutics
Avilar Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of extracellular protein degraders. Avilar develops ATACs (ASGPR Targeting Chimeras) that harness the liver's natural asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR)-mediated degradation pathway to selectively remove pathogenic extracellular proteins from circulation.
Avilar is advancing a pipeline of ATAC programs across multiple therapeutic areas with significant unmet need. Its lead program targets circulating sFlt1, a key driver of preeclampsia. Additional programs include an IgM-targeting ATAC for IgM-mediated diseases, with an initial focus on anti-MAG neuropathy, an oral ApoB-targeting ATAC for cardiovascular disease, and an oral IgG-targeting ATAC for autoimmune diseases. Across the pipeline, Avilar employs biologics, peptides and small molecules as target-binding modalities. These capabilities extend the platform to a broad range of extracellular pathogenic protein targets.
Avilar is based in Watertown, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.avilar-tx.com and follow Avilar on LinkedIn.