MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Phio
Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: PHIO) today announced that Gerrit Dispersyn, Dr. Med. Sc., currently President and COO, has been
appointed by the Board of Directors as the Company's new CEO, effective March 1. He will succeed
Geert Cauwenbergh, Dr. Med. Sc., who will retire as CEO of the Company. Dr. Cauwenbergh will be
available to support the transition and will remain as a member of the Board of Directors.
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Dr. Cauwenbergh was elected President and CEO of Phio Pharmaceuticals when the business was spun-off from its parent company,
then known as Galena Biopharma, Inc., in April 2012. He was also elected to serve as a member of
the Board of Directors. During his tenure, he has helped guide Phio Pharmaceuticals from a platform company with products in
dermatology and ophthalmology to a company developing groundbreaking immuno-oncology therapeutics.
Robert Bitterman, Chairman of the Board, said, "We are very grateful for Dr. Cauwenbergh's past
leadership, energy and vision and we are pleased he will remain a member of the Board of Directors to continue to offer guidance
based on his extensive experience in the health care sector."
Prior to his current role, Dr. Dispersyn was elected Chief Development Officer of the Company in April
2017. Over the past two years, Dr. Dispersyn has provided exemplary leadership to the research and development team at
Phio Pharmaceuticals. He has been a catalyst in Phio Pharmaceuticals' transformation into an immuno-oncology therapeutics company
and has been instrumental in finalizing the clinical work in its dermatology and ophthalmology programs, with the closure and
report-out of various successful clinical studies.
Dr. Cauwenbergh commented, "I am very happy that Dr. Dispersyn has accepted this new responsibility as CEO of Phio
Pharmaceuticals. Since joining the Company, Gerrit has demonstrated leadership, team-building capability and an ability to relate
to our shareholders and the rest of our Board. As a continuing member of the Board of Directors, I look forward to working with
Dr. Dispersyn to help him build our Company into one of the leaders in immuno-oncology. Our recent financing provides cash into
the third quarter of 2020 and creates a stable foundation for Dr. Dispersyn to carry out Phio's mission."
Dr. Dispersyn said, "I'm extremely excited and feel privileged to be appointed the next CEO of Phio Pharmaceuticals. I want to
thank the Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in appointing me to this role. I look forward to advancing Dr.
Cauwenbergh's vision to develop a very promising next generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics based on our self-delivering
RNAi platform."
About Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: PHIO) is a biotechnology company developing the next generation of immuno-oncology
therapeutics based on its self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA®) therapeutic platform. The Company's discovery and research efforts are
focused on developing sd-rxRNA therapeutic compounds to be used in the context of adoptive cell transfer by targeting checkpoints
or other gene targets, or to be used in immunotherapy following intratumoral injection. We aim to maximize the power of our
sd-rxRNA therapeutic compounds by weaponizing therapeutic immune effector cells to attack cancer, and to make tumors more
susceptible to such attacks, and ultimately provide patients battling cancers with a powerful new treatment option that goes
beyond current treatment modalities. For additional information, visit the Company's
website, www.phiopharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. These statements are based
only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies,
projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to
the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many
of which are outside of our control. Our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking
statements as a result of a number of important factors, including, but not limited to, the safety and efficacy of our product
candidates, future success of our clinical trials and scientific studies, expected duration of available cash runway, our ability
to enter into strategic partnerships and the future success of these strategic partnerships, the availability of funds and
resources to pursue our research and development projects and general economic conditions. Our Annual Report on
Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q include detailed risks under the caption "Risk Factors" that
may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Readers are urged to review these risk factors and to not
act in reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ from those contemplated by our forward-looking
statements. Phio does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views, events or
circumstances that occur after the date of this release.
Contact
Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp.
ir@phiopharma.com
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SOURCE Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp.