Company Description
Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVM) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on gene therapy for ocular diseases. According to company disclosures, Adverum aims to establish gene therapy as a new standard of care for highly prevalent eye conditions, with the aspiration of developing functional cures to restore vision and prevent blindness. The company is classified under biological product manufacturing and operates in the broader manufacturing sector.
Adverum describes itself as pioneering the use of intravitreal gene therapy to preserve sight for life in ocular diseases. Its approach centers on durable, single‑administration therapies, designed to be delivered in physicians’ offices, with the goal of eliminating the need for frequent ocular injections that are common in current treatment paradigms for serious retinal disorders.
Core focus and lead program
The company’s lead product candidate is ixoberogene soroparvovec (Ixo‑vec, formerly ADVM‑022), a clinical-stage gene therapy being developed for the treatment of neovascular or wet age‑related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Adverum states that Ixo‑vec is designed as a one‑time intravitreal (IVT) injection for patients with wet AMD, a chronic and progressive retinal disease associated with vision loss.
Ixo‑vec utilizes a proprietary vector capsid, AAV.7m8, carrying an aflibercept coding sequence under the control of a proprietary expression cassette. Company materials explain that, unlike ophthalmic gene therapies that require sub‑retinal surgery, Ixo‑vec is intended to be administered via a single IVT injection in the physician’s office. It is designed to deliver long‑term efficacy, reduce the burden of frequent anti‑VEGF injections, optimize patient compliance, and improve vision outcomes for patients with wet AMD.
Adverum reports that Ixo‑vec is being evaluated in the pivotal Phase 3 ARTEMIS trial, which compares a single administration of Ixo‑vec (6E10 vg/eye) to aflibercept (2 mg) given every eight weeks in both treatment‑naïve and previously treated wet AMD patients. SEC filings note that the company completed target enrollment of 284 patients in ARTEMIS on November 19, 2025.
Regulatory designations and development status
According to company press releases, Ixo‑vec has received multiple regulatory designations for the treatment of wet AMD. In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designations. In Europe, Ixo‑vec has obtained PRIME designation from the European Medicines Agency, and in the United Kingdom it has received the Innovation Passport from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. These designations reflect regulatory interest in new treatment options for wet AMD as described in Adverum’s communications.
Adverum also references earlier‑stage and supporting clinical studies, including OPTIC and LUNA, which have generated long‑term follow‑up data for Ixo‑vec. The company has highlighted data such as sustained fluid control, maintenance of visual acuity, and durable aflibercept expression in the eye following a single Ixo‑vec injection in clinical trial participants, based on analyses presented at scientific meetings.
Intravitreal platform and technology
Across its disclosures, Adverum emphasizes its proprietary intravitreal (IVT) gene therapy platform. The platform is described as enabling durable, single‑administration therapies that can be delivered in physicians’ offices. The company notes that its AAV.7m8 capsid was derived from AAV2 by directed evolution and is intended to improve retinal transduction following intravitreal administration. Published work cited by Adverum reports increased transduction efficiency of retinal cells with AAV.7m8 compared to natural AAV2 and other engineered capsids.
According to the company, this platform underpins its goal of creating therapies that may provide long‑term or potentially lifelong treatment effects after a one‑time injection, reducing reliance on frequent intravitreal injections that are typical for current anti‑VEGF therapies in wet AMD.
Corporate developments and acquisition by Eli Lilly
In October 2025, Adverum entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Eli Lilly and Company and a Lilly subsidiary, as disclosed in an 8‑K filing and joint press releases. Under this agreement, Lilly commenced a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Adverum common stock for cash plus a non‑tradable contingent value right (CVR) per share. The CVR provides the right to receive contingent cash payments upon achievement of specified milestones related to Ixo‑vec, as described in the transaction documents.
A December 9, 2025 news release from Lilly and Adverum states that the tender offer expired as scheduled on December 8, 2025, that all conditions to the offer were satisfied, and that Lilly and its acquisition subsidiary accepted for payment all shares validly tendered and not withdrawn. The parties indicated that they expected to consummate the acquisition on December 9, 2025, in accordance with the merger agreement. Following completion of this acquisition, Adverum Biotechnologies became part of Eli Lilly and Company, and the ADVM ticker represents the historical public listing of Adverum prior to its acquisition.
Business context and objectives
Across multiple press releases, Adverum consistently describes its corporate objective as using gene therapy to preserve sight for life in highly prevalent ocular diseases. The company’s communications emphasize:
- Developing durable, single‑administration intravitreal gene therapies.
- Targeting wet AMD with Ixo‑vec as a potential one‑time treatment.
- Aspiring to transform the standard of care, preserve vision, and prevent blindness.
- Seeking to reduce the treatment burden associated with frequent anti‑VEGF injections.
Prior to its acquisition, Adverum also reported activities such as participation in ophthalmology conferences, inducement equity grants to new employees under its 2017 Inducement Plan, and financing transactions to support ongoing clinical development, all within the framework of advancing Ixo‑vec and its intravitreal gene therapy platform.
Position within the biotechnology and manufacturing sector
Adverum is categorized under biological product (except diagnostic) manufacturing, reflecting its focus on gene therapy products. Its operations, as described in public filings and press releases, center on research, clinical development, and the advancement of gene therapy candidates rather than on large‑scale commercial manufacturing. Within the broader biotechnology landscape, Adverum’s niche is ocular gene therapy delivered via intravitreal injection, with an emphasis on wet AMD as a major indication.
Historical note on public listing
SEC filings identify Adverum Biotechnologies’ common stock under the symbol ADVM on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Following the tender offer and planned merger with Eli Lilly and Company, Adverum’s status as an independent, publicly traded company changed, and the ADVM symbol serves as a reference to its historical trading and regulatory record prior to completion of the acquisition, as reflected in the merger‑related filings.