Highly Accomplished Strategy, Corporate/Business Development, Finance and Operations Executive With 20 Years of Biopharma Experience
PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 180 Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: ATNF) (“180 Life Sciences” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain, today announced the appointment of Quan A. Vu to the role of Chief Operating Officer/Chief Business Officer.
Mr. Vu is a highly versatile and accomplished strategy, corporate/business development, finance and operations executive with 20 years of “hands-on” biopharma experience. He is known as a consummate dealmaker with a demonstrated history of prospecting, evaluating, structuring and closing transactions that augment both organizational and shareholder value, as well as a persuasive negotiator who orchestrates domestic and international win-win solutions that integrate a diversity of views, expectations and goals.
Dr. James Woody, 180 Life Sciences CEO commented, “I’m excited to welcome Quan to our management team. With his sound understanding of pipeline development, commercial assessment and go-to-market strategies, I believe he will add meaningful value to our efforts to bring novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs to market. Importantly, he has a very defined track record of success in both in-licensing, out-licensing, co-development and mergers and acquisitions.”
Select licensing accomplishments include:
- Aegis Therapeutics (acquired by Neurelis): renegotiated the in-licensing agreement for Intravail, an excipient with absorption enhancement properties, for use with Opiant’s clinical pipeline products; saved 25% in value
- Sanofi: in-licensed a cannabinoid receptor antagonist with P2 data and IP portfolio for a favorable 80/20 economic split
- DURECT: $2M upfront with $61M in potential milestones for worldwide rights to Eladur, indicated for post-herpetic neuralgia
- Array BioPharma: $60M upfront with $660M of additional milestones and royalties for ARRY-403, a P1 small-molecule glucokinase activator program for Type 2 diabetes
- Myostatin Portfolio: $250M of potential milestones and royalties for out-licensing of 6 myostatin assets to form Atara Biotherapeutics, a $1.5B market cap company
Prior to joining 180 Life Sciences, Mr. Vu served as a CBO/CFO consultant for LS Associates, a member company of LifeSci Partners, as well as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Healthcare IT at Solganick & Co., a boutique technology investment bank providing M&A advisory. He also served as CEO of Baleena Bioscience, a consolidator of several healthspan biotechnology/medical device assets with the express purpose of going public via a SPAC. Before the above roles, he held leadership positions of increasing responsibility at several companies, namely as a Vice President at Opiant Pharmaceuticals, Staff Vice President at Anthem, Director at Impax Laboratories and Senior Manager at Amgen. He began his career in financial and economic consulting at LECG and in healthcare corporate finance and M&A at bulge-bracket investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts Economics from UCLA in 2000.
About 180 Life Sciences Corp.
180 Life Sciences Corp. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel drugs that fulfill unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and pain by leveraging the combined expertise of luminaries in therapeutics from Oxford University, the Hebrew University and Stanford University. 180 Life Sciences is leading the research into solving one of the world’s biggest drivers of disease – inflammation. The Company is driving groundbreaking studies into clinical programs, which are seeking to develop novel drugs addressing separate areas of inflammation for which there are no effective therapies. The Company’s primary platform is a novel program to treat fibrosis using anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements", including information about management’s view of the Company’s future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”). Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements and factors that may cause such differences include, without limitation, statements relating to expectations regarding the capitalization, resources, and funding of the Company; expectations with respect to future performance, growth and anticipated acquisitions; the continued listing of the Company on The NASDAQ Stock Market; the ability of the Company to execute its plans to develop and market new drug products and the timing and costs of these development programs; estimates of the size of the markets for its potential drug products; potential litigation involving the Company or the validity or enforceability of the intellectual property of the Company; global economic conditions; geopolitical events and regulatory changes; the expectations, development plans and anticipated timelines for the Company's drug candidates, pipeline and programs, including collaborations with third parties; access to additional financing, and the potential lack of such financing; and the Company’s ability to raise funding in the future and the terms of such funding. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks, as well as in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus that the Company filed in connection with the recent merger. These reports and filings are available at www.sec.gov. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Company or other matters and attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, including the forward-looking statements included in this press release, which are made only as of the date hereof. The Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as otherwise provided by law.
Investors:
Jason Assad
Director of IR
180 Life Sciences Corp
(678) 570-6791
Jason@180lifesciences.com
Media Relations:
Russo Partners
David Schull
David.Schull@russopartnersllc.com
(212) 845-4271
