WARRINGTON, Pa., Feb. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Windtree
Therapeutics, Inc. (NasdaqCM: WINT), a biotechnology and medical
device company focused on advancing multiple late-stage
interventions for acute cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders,
today announced the appointment of Joseph
Soffer, M.D., F.A.C.C., as Executive Director of Clinical
Development, effective immediately.
"We are thrilled to welcome Joe to lead our cardiovascular
clinical development efforts at such an important time for
Windtree," said Dr. Steve Simonson,
Chief Medical Officer at Windtree Therapeutics. "Joe's expertise in
cardiology and substantial experience with drug development in the
pharmaceutical industry will be invaluable to our istaroxime
program in acute heart failure, including our study in early
cardiogenic shock."
Dr. Soffer commented, "I am delighted to join this dynamic team
working on innovative products like istaroxime at such an exciting
time of growth for the company. I look forward to helping the team
develop the novel pipeline of assets to address a number of
significant unmet needs in cardiovascular medicine."
Joseph Soffer, M.D., F.A.C.C., is
a Board-certified physician in Cardiology and Internal Medicine
with over 30 years of combined experience in industry, clinical
practice, and academia. His medical expertise has focused on heart
failure, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, lipid disorders, and
hypertension, among other disease areas. Most recently, he served
as the Senior Medical Director of Clinical Development at
GlaxoSmithKline. In this role, he led the U.S. and international
clinical development for cardiology assets and pharmacovigilance
activities for late-stage trials. Previously, he served as
Associate Medical Director of Medical Affairs at Merck and also
worked at Medcases. Dr. Soffer's clinical trial experience has
included early and late-stage clinical development ranging from
Phase I to Phase IV, including successful approval of a cardiology
asset in Europe and Canada. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical
industry, Dr. Soffer was a practicing cardiologist for over fifteen
years after receiving an M.D. from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine,
and an undergraduate degree from Rutgers
University.
In connection with Dr. Soffer's appointment, the Board of
Directors of Windtree granted Dr. Soffer a stock option to purchase
100,000 shares of Windtree's common stock. The exercise price of
the stock option will be the closing price of Windtree's common
stock on the Nasdaq Capital market on the date of the grant,
January 29, 2021. The stock option is
being granted to Dr. Soffer as an inducement material to him
accepting employment with Windtree and is being granted outside of
the Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.'s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, in
accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock options
will vest in three equal annual installments beginning on the first
anniversary of the grant date, subject to Dr. Soffer's continued
employment with Windtree through the applicable vesting date.
About Windtree Therapeutics
Windtree Therapeutics,
Inc. is advancing multiple late-stage interventions for acute
cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders to treat patients in moments
of crisis. Using new clinical approaches, Windtree is developing a
multi-asset franchise anchored around compounds with an ability to
activate SERCA2a, with lead candidate istaroxime being developed as
a first-in-class treatment for acute heart failure and early
cardiogenic shock in heart failure. Windtree has also focused on
developing AEROSURF® as a non-invasive surfactant treatment for
premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome, and is
facilitating transfer of clinical development of AEROSURF® to its
licensee in Asia, Lee's HK, while
Windtree evaluates other uses for its synthetic KL4
surfactant for the treatment of acute pulmonary conditions
including lung injury due to viral, chemical and radiation induced
insults. Also in its portfolio is rostafuroxin, a novel precision
drug product targeting hypertensive patients with certain genetic
profiles.
For more information, please visit the Company's website at
www.windtreetx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company may,
in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes,"
"potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates,"
"expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will,"
"should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or
outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such
statements are based on information available to the Company as of
the date of this press release and are subject to numerous
important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
events or results to differ materially from the Company's current
expectations. Examples of such risks and uncertainties include:
risks and uncertainties associated with the ongoing economic and
social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, including any adverse
impact on the Company's clinical trials or disruption in supply
chain; the success and advancement of the clinical
development programs for istaroxime, AEROSURF®, KL4 surfactant and
the Company's other product candidates; the Company's ability to
secure significant additional capital as and when needed; the
Company's ability to access the debt or equity markets; the
Company's ability to manage costs and execute on its operational
and budget plans; the results, cost and timing of the Company's
clinical development programs, including any delays to such
clinical trials relating to enrollment or site initiation; risks
related to technology transfers to contract manufacturers and
manufacturing development activities; delays encountered by the
Company, contract manufacturers or suppliers in manufacturing drug
products, drug substances, aerosol delivery systems (ADS) and other
materials on a timely basis and in sufficient amounts; risks
relating to rigorous regulatory requirements, including that: (i)
the FDA or other regulatory authorities may not agree with the
Company on matters raised during regulatory reviews, may require
significant additional activities, or may not accept or may
withhold or delay consideration of applications, or may not approve
or may limit approval of the Company's product candidates,
and (ii) changes in the national or international political and
regulatory environment may make it more difficult to gain
regulatory approvals and risks related to the Company's efforts to
maintain and protect the patents and licenses related to its
product candidates; risks related to the size and growth potential
of the markets for the Company's product candidates, and the
Company's ability to service those markets; the Company's ability
to develop sales and marketing capabilities, whether alone or with
potential future collaborators; and the rate and degree of market
acceptance of the Company's product candidates, if approved.
These and other risks are described in the Company's periodic
reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, filed with or
furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission and available
at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements that the
Company makes in this press release speak only as of the date of
this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, after the date of this press
release.
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SOURCE Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.