Current Board Member and Xenon Pharmaceuticals President and CFO Ian Mortimer Named New Board Chairman
Appili Therapeutics Inc. (TSXV: APLI) (the “Company” or “Appili”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on anti-infective drug development, today announced that it has appointed Juergen Froehlich, MD, MBA, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Froehlich’s career covers a broad range of drug development successes involving strategic planning and execution of all phases of drug development and regulatory interactions across multiple therapeutic areas, including infectious diseases. In addition, Appili announced the appointment of current board member and Xenon Pharmaceuticals President and Chief Financial Officer Ian Mortimer as Appili’s Board Chair, replacing Stephen Nicolle, who resigned today.
“We are very pleased to welcome Juergen to Appili’s Board. His background will be very valuable as the Company advances its clinical portfolio through multiple milestones, from ATI-1701’s pivotal data readout to the initiation of the Phase 2 clinical program for the newly acquired ATI-2307 asset,” said Ian Mortimer, Chair of the Board at Appili. “In particular, his successful track record with all stages of clinical development and global regulatory affairs, along with his anti-infective experience, will provide key insights for value creation from Appili’s pipeline.”
Dr. Froehlich has 30 years of experience in medical and regulatory affairs. He has worked with biologics, peptides, small molecules and RNA therapeutics at companies including Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Quintiles, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Ipsen, Vertex, and Aradigm Corporation. In his career, he was instrumental in obtaining successful marketing authorizations worldwide, including in the U.S., Canada, and the E.U. As Chief Medical Officer and Head of Regulatory Affairs of Aradigm Corporation, he initiated, oversaw, and completed a Phase 3 trial program with a liposomal formulation of ciprofloxacin for inhalation in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE) and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections, which resulted in a New Drug Application (NDA) and Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) submission. He was an invited panel member at a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) workshop in 2018 for inhaled antibiotics in cystic fibrosis and NCFBE.
“I am fully committed to helping companies bring novel treatments to patients with serious unmet medical needs, and I look forward to supporting Appili Therapeutics in this endeavor,” said Dr. Froehlich. “The important work the company is doing to advance anti-infectives is part of the global effort to combat resistant pathogens. I am pleased to share my insights on specific global and local regulatory requirements, clinical-stage planning, and the transition from developmental to commercial activities as the Company progresses its portfolio.”
Mr. Mortimer has served as an Appili Board Member since 2017. He is currently the President and Chief Financial Officer of Xenon Pharmaceuticals – a clinical stage biotech that develops therapeutics for neurological disorders. He continued, “Having leadership roles in multiple biotech companies in my 20-plus year career, I have been impressed with the tremendous strides Appili has made, progressing quickly from a start-up to a publicly traded entity with four dynamic pipeline assets, and I look forward to serving as the Company’s Board Chair. My fellow board members and the Appili leadership team are grateful to Steve for his leadership and guidance during his tenure as an Appili Director over these past three years.”
Stephen Nicolle joined Appili’s Board in 2017 as the Company’s first independent Director and was instrumental in the early stages of Appili’s formation and development. He served as Appili’s Board Chairman since February 2019.
The Company granted Dr. Froehlich 140,000 stock options under Appili’ Stock Option Plan as part of his role as a new director. The stock options will be exercisable at $0.815 per share and will have a term of ten years and will vest over a period of three years. The press release dated December 3, 2019, incorrectly had included these 140,000 in the total of stock options granted as well as the incorrect date of grant. On December 2, 2019, a total of 1,855,000 stock options were granted.
About Appili Therapeutics
Appili Therapeutics Inc. was founded to advance the global fight against infectious disease by matching clearly defined patient needs with drug development programs that provide solutions to existing challenges patients, doctors, and society face in this critical disease space. Appili has built a pipeline of assets designed to address a broad range of significant unmet medical needs in the infectious disease landscape. This diverse pipeline aims to address some of the most urgent threats in global public health, including ATI-2307, a novel, broad spectrum, clinical-stage antifungal candidate in development for severe and difficult-to-treat invasive fungal infections; ATI-1701, a vaccine candidate for tularemia, a very serious biological weapons threat; ATI-1503, a drug discovery program aimed at generating a novel class of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative superbugs; and ATI-1501, which employs Appili’s proprietary, taste-masked, oral-suspension technology with metronidazole for the growing number of patients with difficulty swallowing. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with offices in Toronto, Ontario, Appili is pursuing worldwide opportunities in collaboration with scientific and industry commercial partners, governments and government agencies. For more information, visit www.AppiliTherapeutics.com.
Forward looking statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” which reflect the current expectations of the Company’s management for future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as “may “, “would “, “could “, “should”, “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “potential for” and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, those listed in the annual information form of the Company dated July 3, 2019 and the other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
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