Vera Therapeutics adds Christopher Hite to board of directors

Vera Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VERA) announced the appointment of Christopher Hite to its board of directors. Hite will serve as an independent board member at the Brisbane, California-based biotechnology company.

Hite brings over 25 years of strategic and financial experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to his new role. He currently serves as Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman at Royalty Pharma. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma in 2020, Hite spent more than a decade at Citi, where he served as Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory and as Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking. He previously held the position of Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers.

The executive currently serves on the board of Kailera Therapeutics and the Board of Trustees at Lehigh University. He previously served on the board of Acceleron Pharma until Merck acquired the company in November 2021. Hite holds a B.S. from Lehigh University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.

Vera Therapeutics focuses on developing treatments for immunological diseases. The company's lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein administered as a subcutaneous weekly injection that blocks B-cell Activating Factor and A Proliferation-Inducing Ligand. The treatment targets autoantibodies contributing to autoimmune diseases, including IgA nephropathy and lupus nephritis.

The company also holds an exclusive license agreement with Stanford University for VT-109, a fusion protein targeting BAFF and APRIL, and is evaluating MAU868, a monoclonal antibody designed to neutralize BK virus infection in kidney transplant recipients.

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