Attovia Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Carlos, Calif., has appointed John W. Smither to its board of directors as an independent director and chair of the Audit Committee, according to a press release dated July 15, 2026.

Smither currently serves as chief financial officer of MBX Biosciences (Nasdaq: MBX) and as a senior advisor to Frazier Life Sciences. He previously held chief financial officer or interim chief financial officer roles at several biotech companies, including Arcutis Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: ARQT).

Smither also serves on the board of directors of NewAmsterdam Pharma (Nasdaq: NAMS), where he chairs the Audit Committee, and of Genelux Corporation (Nasdaq: GNLX), where he chairs the Compensation Committee and sits on the Audit Committee. He previously served on the boards of eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Applied Molecular Transport. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles.

Separately, Attovia announced that Yuling Luo, PhD, a co-founder and director, will step down from the board. Luo is credited as the inventor of the company's Attobody technology, which underpins Attovia's biotherapeutics platform.