TIDMDDDD
RNS Number : 7898Z
4d Pharma PLC
23 September 2020
4D pharma plc
(the "Company" or "4D")
Directorate Change
4D pharma makes strategic appointment of independent
Non-Executive Director in response to new clinical success and next
stages of global development
Leeds, UK, 23 September, 2020 - 4D pharma plc (AIM: DDDD), a
pharmaceutical company leading the development of Live
Biotherapeutics, today announces the appointment of Katrin Rupalla,
Ph.D, as an independent Non-Executive Director with immediate
effect.
Duncan Peyton, 4D's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are
delighted to be able to attract someone of Katrin's calibre to our
Board of Directors. Her vast experience guiding novel therapies
through the clinic will be invaluable as we progress our pipeline
of novel Live Biotherapeutics into and through the clinic. With her
background so well aligned with 4D's core focus areas of oncology
and CNS, Katrin's experience and network across Europe, the US and
China will support 4D's growth as we continue to expand our global
profile."
Dr Rupalla brings to 4D pharma over twenty years of experience
in the pharmaceutical industry, extensive regulatory and clinical
expertise in the fields of oncology and neuroscience. Dr Rupalla
has previously served in senior positions at Merck & Co.,
Roche, Celgene and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). While at BMS, Dr
Rupalla was Vice President Head R&D China and Global
Development Team Leader for Opdivo/Yervoy in China, and then Vice
President, Head Oncology Global Regulatory Sciences. Throughout her
career, she has led regional and global teams responsible for
obtaining approvals for multiple new therapeutics and indications,
including Opdivo, Yervoy, Rituxan, Xeloda, Avastin, Revlimid and
Vidaza, among others.
Dr Rupalla will make a considerable impact on 4D pharma's
immediate and long-term clinical strategy across its Live
Biotherapeutic development pipeline, including the application of
the Rx platform and our earlier pre-clinical assets, but also our
lead immuno-oncology candidate MRx0518 and neurodegenerative
disease programs MRx0029 and MRx0005. Following the recent
successful completion of the Part A safety phase of its ongoing
trial of MRx0518 in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor
(ICI) Keytruda(R), which achieved a disease control rate (DCR) of
42% in heavily pre-treated patients refractory to prior ICI
therapy, the Part B cohort expansion phase of the trial is
currently enrolling at multiple sites as announced. Dr Rupalla will
be a valuable new voice helping to guide and deliver the expanding
global clinical development program for MRx0518.
Dr Rupalla currently serves as Senior Vice President, Global
Head Regulatory Affairs, Medical Documentation and R&D Quality
at Lundbeck, a leading biopharmaceutical developing novel
therapeutics for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).
Dr Rupalla has a Ph.D in CNS Pharmacology from the
Philipps-University Marburg, Germany, and an MBA from Jones
International University, CO, US.
4D pharma also announces the retirement of David Norwood as a
Non-Executive Director at the end of September. Duncan Peyton said,
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dave, as a founding
member, investor and Chairman of 4D pharma for six years, for his
contributions to 4D pharma's incredible growth and development to
where we are today, and wish him all the best in his
retirement."
Additional Disclosures
The following information is disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two
paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies. Katrin Juliane
Rupalla, aged 53 years, has been a director of the following
companies during the five years preceding the date of this
announcement:
Current directorships/partnerships Past directorships/partnerships
iQure Pharma Inc N/A
Katrin Rupalla does not currently hold any ordinary shares in
the Company.
Save as set out above there are no further disclosures pursuant
to Rule 17 or Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for
Companies in respect of the appointment of Katrin Rupalla.
About 4D
Founded in February 2014, 4D pharma is a world leader in the
development of Live Biotherapeutics, a novel and emerging class of
drugs, defined by the FDA as biological products that contain a
live organism, such as a bacterium, that is applicable to the
prevention, treatment or cure of a disease. 4D has developed a
proprietary platform, MicroRx(R), that rationally identifies Live
Biotherapeutics based on a deep understanding of function and
mechanism.
4D's Live Biotherapeutic Products are orally delivered single
strains of bacteria that are naturally found in the healthy human
gut. The Company has six clinical studies in progress, namely a
Phase II clinical study of BLAUTIX(R) in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS), a Phase I/II study of MRx0518 in combination with
KEYTRUDA(R) (pembrolizumab) in solid tumours, a Phase I study of
MRx0518 in a neoadjuvant setting for patients with solid tumours, a
Phase I study of MRx0518 in patients with pancreatic cancer, a
Phase I/II study of MRx-4DP0004 in asthma, and a Phase II study of
MRx-4DP0004 in patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
Preclinical-stage programs include candidates for CNS disease such
as Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. The
Company has a research collaboration with MSD, a tradename of Merck
& Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, to discover and develop Live
Biotherapeutics for vaccines.
For more information, refer to https://www.4dpharmaplc.com.
Contact Information:
4D
Duncan Peyton, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)113 895 0130
Investor Relations ir@4dpharmaplc.com
N+1 Singer - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker +44 (0)20 7496
3000
Aubrey Powell / Justin McKeegan / Iqra Amin (Corporate
Finance)
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking)
Bryan Garnier & Co. Limited - Joint Broker +44 (0)20 7332
2500
Dominic Wilson / Phil Walker
Image Box Communications
Neil Hunter / Michelle Boxall +44 (0)20 8943 4685
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