Abivax Appoints Michael Ferguson as Chief Commercial Officer

Michael Ferguson has a strong track record in the biopharmaceutical industry, having held senior positions for commercialization
and marketing of drugs in the field of Gastroenterology and specifically in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD)

As CCO of Abivax, Michael Ferguson will be leading the market development of obefazimod in IBD, starting with ulcerative colitis

PARIS, France, April 18, 2023 – 6:00 p.m. (CEST) – Abivax SA (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 – ABVX), a Phase 3 clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics that modulate the immune system to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, today announces the appointment of Michael Ferguson as new Chief Commercial Officer, effective immediately, and he will be based at the new Abivax subsidiary on the US East Coast. Therefore, Pierre Courteille will be focusing on business development activities and is appointed Chief Business Officer. Abivax is strengthening its expertise in the commercial and business development field to foster the evolution of the Company towards future commercialization of obefazimod.

Michael Ferguson brings over 22 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with an extensive track record in the field of Gastroenterology (GI) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). He has spent the last 16 years of his career in large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including 13 years in leading commercial positions at Shire/Takeda, followed by Arena Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Vice President Global Commercial Marketing and Planning and specifically as Global Commercial Lead for Etrasimod across all GI Indications. Michael holds both a B.S. and an M.B.A with honors in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University as well as a post graduate degree from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, in Pharmaceutical Marketing.                    

Prof. Hartmut J. Ehrlich, M.D., CEO of Abivax, said: “I am delighted that Michael Ferguson will further strengthen Abivax’s executive team and contribute to the success of the Company with his extensive experience in global commercialization and marketing, especially in the United States. As Abivax’s CCO, he will be leading the global positioning of our lead drug candidate and prepare the ground for commercial launch and market development of obefazimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Along with Michael Ferguson as CCO, the Company has a strong, internationally recognized experienced and diversified senior management team to lead obefazimod through the final development steps and, if successful, towards the market and the patients who urgently need new treatments.”

Michael Ferguson, new CCO of Abivax, commented: “I am very excited to join the Abivax team with the ongoing Phase 3 clinical program with obefazimod. Based on my experience and the recently reported and very encouraging results of UC patients treated for two years with obefazimod, I believe that the molecule has what it takes to become a new therapeutic option for patients suffering from UC and IBD generally. From a global marketing perspective, obefazimod’s convenient once-daily oral administration will be a big advantage for both patients and gastroenterologists.”