SAN DIEGO, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARTV) (Artiva), a clinical-stage biotechnology company whose mission is to develop effective, safe and accessible cell therapies for patients with devastating autoimmune diseases and cancers, today announced the appointment of Elaine Sorg to its Board of Directors. Ms. Sorg brings more than 35 years of executive leadership and commercial experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Artiva, including leading the commercialization of major immunology therapies such as HUMIRA® (adalimumab) and RINVOQ® (upadacitinib) for rheumatoid arthritis.
“We are thrilled to welcome Elaine to Artiva’s board at such an important time for the company,” said Fred Aslan, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Artiva Biotherapeutics. “Elaine brings deep experience building and scaling biopharmaceutical companies and launching innovative therapies. Her strategic perspective will be invaluable as we prepare to share clinical activity data from our AlloNK regimen in rheumatoid arthritis and engage with the FDA on a registrational trial.”
Dr. Aslan continued, “AlloNK enables deep B-cell depletion and may offer a differentiated profile in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, with the potential for superior efficacy compared to currently approved therapies, along with biologics-like convenience, safety, tolerability, accessibility and cost of goods. As we lay the groundwork for future commercialization, Elaine’s guidance will help position Artiva for long-term success as we work to bring AlloNK to patients with serious autoimmune diseases.”
“It is a privilege to join Artiva’s board at such an important time for the company as it advances AlloNK toward becoming a transformative treatment option for people living with rheumatoid arthritis and other serious autoimmune diseases,” said Ms. Sorg. “AlloNK represents an innovative approach to address significant unmet need, and I am excited to work with Artiva’s team and fellow board members to help guide the company through its next phase of development and toward future commercialization.”
Ms. Sorg has more than 35 years of experience as a senior executive at leading pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie and Eli Lilly. During her career, she played a key role in building leading franchises across immunology, oncology, neuroscience and eye care, and is recognized for driving strong commercial execution while maintaining a focus on patient access and support. Prior to her retirement in January 2024, she served as senior vice president at AbbVie and president of the company’s U.S. commercial operations, its largest commercial business, where she led the U.S. commercialization of a broad portfolio of medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. Earlier in her tenure at AbbVie, she served as head of U.S. Immunology where she was responsible for the commercial strategy and performance of major autoimmune disease brands, including HUMIRA® (adalimumab), Skyrizi® (risankizumab-rzaa) and RINVOQ® (upadacitinib). Earlier in her career, Ms. Sorg spent more than two decades at Eli Lilly and Company in a range of sales, marketing and general management roles.
Ms. Sorg has served as a director of CSL Limited since September 2024 and a member of the scientific strategy board of Galapagos since October 2025. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at Purdue University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science and a senior adviser at Boston Consulting Group, where she advises global healthcare clients on business-critical strategies. Ms. Sorg holds a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Purdue University and postgraduate certifications from the University of Chicago Booth School of Management and Harvard Business School.
About Artiva Biotherapeutics
Artiva is a clinical-stage biotechnology company whose mission is to develop effective, safe and accessible cell therapies for patients with devastating autoimmune diseases and cancers. Artiva’s lead program, AlloNK® (also known as AB-101), is an allogeneic, off-the-shelf, non-genetically modified, cryopreserved NK cell therapy candidate designed to enhance the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity effect of monoclonal antibodies to drive B-cell depletion. AlloNK is currently being evaluated in three ongoing clinical trials for the treatment of B-cell driven autoimmune diseases, including a company-sponsored basket trial across autoimmune diseases that includes rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren’s disease and an investigator-initiated basket trial in B-cell driven autoimmune diseases. Artiva’s pipeline also includes CAR-NK candidates targeting both solid and hematologic cancers. Artiva was founded in 2019 as a spin out of GC Cell, formerly GC Lab Cell Corporation, a leading healthcare company in the Republic of Korea, pursuant to a strategic partnership granting Artiva exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Asia, Australia and New Zealand) to GC Cell’s NK cell manufacturing technology and programs.
Artiva is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit www.artivabio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the appointment of Elaine Sorg to the Board of Directors of Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) and the Company’s mission, product candidates (including their potential continued development, future commercialization, and transformative treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions), clinical trials, pipeline, and strategic partnerships. These forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the management of the Company as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the events or circumstances referred to in the forward-looking statements may not occur. These and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results to differ from current expectations are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date this press release is given. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Investors
Noopur Batsha Liffick, MPH
NBL LifeSci Advisory LLC
ir@artivabio.com
Media
Jessica Yingling, Ph.D.
Little Dog Communications Inc.
jessica@litldog.com
Source: Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc.
