BASEL, Switzerland, March 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anaveon, a late-stage preclinical biotech focused on reprogramming the immune system with precision biologics, announces today the appointment of Thaminda Ramanayake as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Ramanayake brings over 20 years of global biopharmaceutical leadership experience, with a strong track record in business development, strategic transactions, and advancing innovative therapeutics. Most recently, as Chief Business Officer at CureVac, he played a key role in the company's transformation and its acquisition by BioNTech in 2025. He previously held senior business development and strategy roles at Sanofi, Affini-T Therapeutics, BioMarin, and Amgen, leading partnerships, licensing, and M&A initiatives. He holds an M.S. in Immunology and an MBA from the University of Rochester, New York.
Dieter Weinand, Chair of the Anaveon Board of Directors, said, "Thaminda is a proven leader with deep strategic and transaction expertise. His ability to build and position companies for value creation makes him ideally suited to lead Anaveon as we advance our immunology pipeline toward the clinic. As we sharpen our focus on immunology, we are confident that Thaminda's leadership will accelerate our ambition to become a premier immunology company based in Switzerland."
"It is an honor and an exciting challenge to serve as the next Chief Executive Officer of Anaveon," said Mr. Ramanayake. "Anaveon is developing new ways to precisely control T cells to address significant unmet needs in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. With promising data across our growing pipeline, including our lead asset ANV200, as a best-in-class candidate for robust depletion of pathogenic T cells, we have tremendous opportunities to make a meaningful difference for patients. I look forward to partnering with the team to drive this next phase of growth and innovation."
Christoph Huber, Chief Science Officer, added, "Building on our strong scientific expertise, we are well positioned to translate these advances into differentiated therapies and drive the company's next phase of growth. We look forward to working with Thaminda to deliver impactful therapies for patients."
Andreas Katopodis, who has led Anaveon since its launch, commented, "I am proud of the foundation we have built and confident that Thaminda's leadership will guide Anaveon through its next stage of growth and development."
Dieter Weinand continued, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank and recognize Andreas for his contribution in leading Anaveon from concept to a promising portfolio of programs, each with the potential to fulfill Anaveon's mission of delivering meaningful new medicines for patients."
Media contact:
Benz Advisory
Beatrix Benz
Email: beatrix.benz@anaveon.com
Tel: +41 79 256 77 73
About Anaveon:
Anaveon AG is a late-stage preclinical biotechnology company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The company is dedicated to transforming lives by precisely modulating the immune system to address high unmet needs in autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders. Our therapeutics target central regulatory nodes of the immune system to selectively eliminate or reprogram pathogenic immune cells and restore durable immune balance. Anaveon is backed by Syncona, Forbion, Blue Owl, Novartis Venture Fund, Pfizer Ventures and Pontifax.
Find out more at anaveon.com
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