Anaveon promotes Laetitia Pouzol to Chief Scientific Officer
Anaveon has appointed Laetitia Pouzol as its permanent Chief Scientific Officer, promoting her from Head of Immunology less than 16 months after she joined the Basel-based company. The move reflects an internal consolidation of scientific leadership as the company prepares to take its lead candidate, ANV200, into the clinic.
Pouzol, who holds a PharmD and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Paris-Saclay, brings more than 16 years of drug discovery and preclinical development experience. Before joining Anaveon in March 2025, she held increasingly senior positions at Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, and Hoffmann-La Roche, where she advanced preclinical candidates to IND, led pharmacology and immunology teams, and contributed to early clinical programmes through biomarker strategy.
The appointment follows an interim period in which Eric Zanelli served as acting CSO, providing scientific continuity during what Anaveon described as a period of organisational transition.
ANV200 and the scientific agenda
ANV200 is a precision-engineered antibody designed to deplete PD-1-expressing cells, a mechanism intended to selectively eliminate pathogenic immune cell populations rather than broadly suppress the immune system. The programme is currently completing IND-enabling studies, with clinical testing described as planned for the near future. Pouzol said she has been leading the translational research strategy for the programme since joining, including its progression from early discovery into IND-enabling work.
Chief executive Thaminda Ramanayake described Pouzol's expertise in translational research and her ability to advance assets from discovery to IND-enabling stages as central to the appointment. "Her leadership in managing the team on the ground with empathy, compassion, and a genuine love for science has resonated deeply with everyone in the organisation," he said.
Market context
Anaveon operates in an increasingly competitive segment of the immunology biologics landscape. The selective depletion or reprogramming of pathogenic immune cells, rather than systemic immunosuppression, is an approach being pursued across a number of companies targeting autoimmune and inflammatory indications. PD-1 biology, long central to oncology, has attracted growing interest in autoimmunity as researchers explore whether targeted depletion of PD-1-positive regulatory and effector T-cell populations can reset immune tolerance without the infection risk associated with broader immunosuppressants.
The regulatory path for novel immunology biologics in this space typically involves close alignment with FDA and EMA on biomarker strategy and patient selection criteria, areas where Pouzol's background in translational research and clinical development support is directly relevant.
Anaveon is backed by Syncona, Forbion, Blue Owl, the Novartis Venture Fund, Pfizer Ventures, and Pontifax, a consortium that gives the company both strategic depth and capital access as it approaches its first-in-human milestone. Investors and collaborators will be watching for an IND filing date and an announcement of the lead autoimmune indication as the next concrete signals of programme progress.