Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Una Ryan steps down as Avant CEO

Biotech industry veteran Una Ryan is leaving her long-time post as CEO of Needham-based Avant Immunotherapeutics Inc., the company reports.

Avant (Nasdaq: AVAN) said it is in talks with Ryan about the terms of her departure, which is effective immediately. She has stepped down two months after her company completed its merger with New Jersey biotech firm Celldex Therapeutics, yet neither Avant nor Ryan specified the exact reason or reasons for her departure.

The company reported that its board plans to conduct an internal and external search for Ryan's replacement, but it did not say whether an interim CEO has been named. A phone call to a company spokesman was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

"After 15 years (with Avant), the time has come for me to move on," Ryan said in a statement. "I am eager to take on my next professional challenge and look forward to dedicating more time to my many activities outside of Avant."

Ryan, former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) industry group, serves on the boards of the MBC, the UMass High Technology Executive Council, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT, as well as several other life sciences institutions and companies in the Bay State and around the country.

Avant reported a 2007 net loss of $21.6 million on revenue of $5.1 million.