MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CohBar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWBR), a clinical stage biotechnology
company developing mitochondria based therapeutics (MBTs) to treat age-related diseases, announced today that it has appointed
Philippe P. Calais, Pharm.D., Ph.D. as its interim Chief Executive Officer, effective December 7, 2018. Dr. Calais will
continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors, which he joined in June 2018. CohBar is currently engaged in search
activities for a successor CEO, for which Dr. Calais is considered a leading candidate, as well as for an additional independent
director to join CohBar’s Board.
“We are very pleased that Philippe has agreed to contribute his extensive biopharmaceutical leadership experience to our
management team at this important time for CohBar,” said Albion J. Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “We anticipate
the coming year will be instrumental to the ongoing development of our lead clinical candidate, CB4211, for the treatment of NASH
and obesity, as well as to the advancement of our preclinical pipeline of mitochondria based therapeutics targeting other
large-population diseases with underlying metabolic dysfunction. We believe Philippe’s broad range of management experience and
extensive therapeutic expertise, spanning all aspects of drug development, financing, partnering and commercialization, make him
particularly well-suited to lead the company.”
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Simon Allen for his contributions and leadership during CohBar’s evolution to a
clinical stage NASDAQ listed biotechnology company, and for his support through this transition,” Mr. Fitzgerald concluded.
“I joined CohBar’s Board earlier this year with a firm belief in the potential of the company’s discoveries and intellectual
property to be developed as mitochondria based therapeutics to improve clinical outcomes for large and growing patient populations
suffering from age-related diseases,” commented Dr. Calais. “My tenure as a director has strengthened my belief in the CohBar
team’s ability to translate these discoveries into a new class of therapeutics for the potential benefit of patients and
shareholders alike. I look forward to working with the management team to efficiently advance the company’s clinical and
preclinical pipeline, while continuing to explore strategic partnership and funding opportunities.”
Dr. Calais brings to the CohBar team more than 30 years of large and small-cap biopharmaceutical experience in product
development and commercialization, partnerships, collaborations and financings. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer
of Isarna Therapeutics B.V., a developer of oligonucleotide therapeutics, where he led the company through a successful Phase 1
study of ISTH0036 in advanced glaucoma, and was responsible for a number of strategic licensing, partnering and asset sale
transactions during his tenure. Prior to Isarna, Dr. Calais led several clinical stage biopharmaceutical companies in Canada and in
Europe, and headed Univalor LTD, a large technology transfer organization focused on commercializing innovations from the
University of Montreal. Earlier in his career, he had multiple roles of increasing responsibility over a ten year period at F.
Hoffmann-La Roche, ultimately becoming Global Head of its Anti-Infectives, Dermatology and Anti-Fungals Business Unit, with direct
responsibility over strategy, marketing, and licensing transactions. Dr. Calais received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and his
doctor of pharmacy from the Université François-Rabelais in Tours, France.
Details for Conference Call
Date: December 11, 2018
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
- Dial-in U.S. and Canada: (800) 239-9838
- Dial-in International: (323) 794-2551
- Conference ID Number: 1003502
We kindly request that you call into the conference audio approximately 10 minutes before the start time so that we can begin
promptly.
An audio replay of the call will be available beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 11, 2018, through 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on January 1, 2019. To access the recording please dial (844) 512-2921 in the U.S. and Canada, or (412) 317-6671
internationally, and reference Conference ID# 1003502. The audio replay will also be available at www.cohbar.com from December 11, 2018, through January 1, 2019.
About CB4211
CohBar’s lead program is based on CB4211, a first-in-class mitochondria based therapeutic (MBT) that has demonstrated
significant therapeutic potential in preclinical models of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity. CB4211 is a novel and
improved analog of MOTS-c, a naturally occurring mitochondrial-derived peptide (MDP) which was discovered in 2012 by CohBar founder
Dr. Pinchas Cohen and his academic collaborators and has been shown to play a significant role in the regulation of metabolism. In
July 2018, CB4211 entered a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial which includes a potential activity readout relevant to NASH and obesity. In
November 2018, the company announced the temporary suspension of the trial to address mild injection site reactions that were
unexpectedly persistent. NASH has been estimated to affect as many as 12% of adults in the U.S., and there is currently no approved
treatment for the disease.
About CohBar
CohBar (NASDAQ: CWBR) is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the research and development of mitochondria based
therapeutics (MBTs), an emerging class of drugs for the treatment of age-related diseases. MBTs originate from the discovery by
CohBar’s founders of a novel group of peptides within the mitochondrial genome which regulate metabolism and cell death, and whose
biological activity declines with age. CohBar’s efforts focus on the development of these mitochondrial-derived peptides (MDPs)
into clinically relevant MBTs that offer the potential to address a broad range of age-related diseases with underlying metabolic
dysfunction, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular and
neurodegenerative diseases. To date, the company and its founders have discovered more than 100 MDPs. For additional company
information, please visit www.cohbar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the therapeutic potential
of mitochondrial-derived peptides for the treatment of age-related diseases and the anticipated contributions of CohBar’s newly
appointed interim Chief Executive Officer. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by
CohBar. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to attract and retain key executives and employees,
the uncertainties inherent in research and development, such as the possibility of unfavorable study results, including unfavorable
new data and additional analyses of existing data; risks associated with initial data, including the risk that results of
additional preclinical or clinical studies may be different from (including less favorable than) the earlier data results and may
not support further clinical development of CohBar’s therapeutic candidates. Additional risks and uncertainties include CohBar’s
ability to expand its research operations and obtain financing necessary to continue its operations and fund its candidate
programs. Additional assumptions, risks and uncertainties are described in detail in our registration statements, reports and other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian securities regulators, which are available on our
website, and at www.sec.gov or www.sedar.com.
You are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results may differ
materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and other information contained
in this news release are made as of the date hereof and CohBar does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any
forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required
by applicable securities laws. Nothing herein shall constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any
securities.
Contacts:
Jon Stern, COO
CohBar, Inc.
(650) 446-7888
jon.stern@cohbar.com
Joyce Allaire
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com
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