Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Appoints Chief Business Officer
--Industry Veteran Paul Brennan Appointed Effective Nov 1st--
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 1, 2022 /CNW/ - Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Eupraxia" or the "Company") (TSX: EPRX), a Phase 2 clinical-stage biotechnology company with an innovative drug delivery technology platform, today announced that it has appointed Paul Brennan to the role of Chief Business Officer ("CBO").
Mr. Brennan will work closely with the executive management team to secure partnership opportunities to help advance the Company's pipeline of drug candidates.
"Paul is an experienced and successful business development executive with decades of biotech experience in Canada and internationally," said Dr. James Helliwell, CEO of Eupraxia. "The company continues to make progress in pipeline development, having recently added a second Phase 2 program in eosinophilic esophagitis. As we continue to advance additional pipeline candidates, we believe development and commercialization partnerships will offer a potentially non-dilutive means to resource and fund these programs, as well as important external validation of the underlying drug candidate prospects. With a focus on optimizing value for shareholders and fully resourcing all pipeline projects, we believe Paul will be instrumental in the execution of this next stage of growth for the Company."
Mr. Brennan has more than 30 years experience in the pharma and biotech industries where he has held several executive positions in general management and/or business development including at NervGen Pharma, Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Arbutus Biopharma (formerly Tekmira Pharmaceuticals), Aspreva Pharmaceuticals and AnorMED.
He has participated in the development and/or commercialization of more than 10 products that have advanced from clinical development through to regulatory approval in either the U.S. or Europe and has been involved in several billions of dollars worth of business development and financing transactions.
Notable transactions involving Mr. Brennan include the sale of Aspreva to Vifor Pharma for $915 million, the sale of AnorMED to Genzyme for $580 million and the merger of Tekmira and OnCore Biopharma to form Arbutus Biopharma, valued at more than $1 billion.
He has also served in senior business development and regulatory affairs roles with AstraZeneca plc, working in Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada. Mr. Brennan holds a master's degree in Neurophysiology from Queen's University in Kingston.
Eupraxia is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of locally delivered, extended-release alternatives to currently approved drugs. Each of Eupraxia's product candidates has the potential to address therapeutic areas with high unmet medical need and strives to provide improved patient benefit by delivering targeted, long-lasting activity with fewer side effects.
Eupraxia's lead product candidate, EP-104IAR, is currently in Phase 2 development for the treatment of pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee. The EP-104IAR platform has expanded into gastrointestinal disease with the launch of a Phase 2 program to treat eosinophilic esophagitis. Eupraxia is also developing a pipeline of later- and earlier-stage long-acting formulations. Potential pipeline indications include candidates for both other inflammatory joint indications and oncology, each designed to improve on the activity and tolerability of currently approved drugs. For further details about Eupraxia, please visit the Company's website at: www.eupraxiapharma.com.
This news release includes forward-looking statements and forward–looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward–looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "is expected", "expects", "scheduled", "intends", "contemplates", "anticipates", "believes", "proposes" or variations (including negative and grammatical variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward looking statements in this press release include statements regarding the Company's business strategies and objectives, including current and future plans and opportunities, expectations and intentions; statements regarding the Company's Phase 2 clinical trial; the ability of the Company to execute on its business strategy; the advancement of pipeline drug candidates; the potential of partnership opportunities to resource and fund the Company's pipeline development; the expectations regarding Mr. Brennan and his role as CBO; the Company's expectations regarding the potential of Eupraxia's product candidates, including with respect to patient benefit, duration and effectiveness; and the development of potential pipeline designs. Such statements and information are based on the current expectations of Eupraxia's management, and are based on assumptions, including but not limited to: future research and development plans for the Company proceeding substantially as currently envisioned; industry growth trends, including with respect to projected and actual industry sales; the Company's ability to obtain positive results from the Company's research and development activities, including clinical trials; and the Company's ability to protect patents and proprietary rights. Although Eupraxia's management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements and information are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward–looking events and circumstances discussed in this news release may not occur by certain dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Eupraxia, including, but not limited to: the Company's limited operating history; the Company's novel technology with uncertain market acceptance; if the Company breaches any of the agreements under which it licenses rights to its product candidates or technology from third parties, the Company could lose license rights that are important to its business; the Company's current license agreement may not provide an adequate remedy for its breach by the licensor; the Company's technology may not be successful for its intended use; the Company's future technology will require regulatory approval, which is costly and the Company may not be able to obtain it; the Company may fail to obtain regulatory approvals or only obtain approvals for limited uses or indications; the Company completely relies on third parties to provide supplies and inputs required for its products and services; the Company relies on external contract research organizations to provide clinical and non-clinical research services; the Company may not be able to successfully execute its business strategy; the Company will require additional financing, which may not be available; any therapeutics the Company develops will be subject to extensive, lengthy and uncertain regulatory requirements, which could adversely affect the Company's ability to obtain regulatory approval in a timely manner, or at all; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; and other risks and uncertainties described in more detail in Eupraxia's public filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Although Eupraxia has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward–looking statements and information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward–looking statement or information can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward–looking statements and information speak only as of the date on which they are made and Eupraxia undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward–looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
For media inquiries, please contact: Vik Peck, Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc., 250.896.7610, [email protected]; For investor inquiries, please contact: Adam Peeler, on behalf of: Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc., 416.427.1235, [email protected]
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