Astra Merck, Inc.

Proprietary Ionic Liquids platform is advancing towards one of i2o’s main goals of producing oral biologics and peptides; an innovation that originated in Harvard’s labs under Dr. Samir Mitragotri Acquired multiple cardiometabolic assets including long-acting GLP-1s, Amylin, Glucagon and PYY that hold significant promise as combination therapies in diabetes, obesity and related indications Acquired ITCA 650 and the Medici™ Implant Platform, an investigational twice-yearly implantable GLP-1 for type 2 diabetes, recently granted a public hearing before an FDA Advisory Committee BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- i2o Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Kurt Graves as Chairman, President and CEO. He was previously Executive Chairman of the Board, a position he held since August 2021. Mr. Graves succeeds i2o co-founder and CEO Ravi Srinivasan, Ph.D., who is pursuing other leadership opportunities within the life sciences field. While i2o has been actively advancing the ionic liquids technology in pre-clinical work on its lead GLP-1 asset, in parallel the company has completed a series of corporate and strategic transactions including: A $46 million Series A financing with top-tier biotech investors. An acquisition and integration of proprietary pipeline assets in the cardiometabolic space from Intarcia Therapeutics including long-acting GLP-1s, Amylin, Glucagon and PYY. The combination of long-acting GLP-1s and the other peptides noted hold significant potential to redefine the standards of care in diabetes, obesity, and related indications. An acquisition and integration of ITCA 650 and the Medici implant technology platform which is an investigational twice-yearly implantable GLP-1 for type 2 diabetes and was recently granted a public hearing on September 21 before an FDA Advisory Committee. The public hearing was granted by the Commissioner’s Office and FDA’s Chief Scientist. i2o has also entered into a new 4-year sponsored research and licensing agreement with the Mitragotri Lab at Harvard University to further strengthen its IP and leadership position in the Ionic Liquid space where additional ionic liquid uses and applications are being advanced. A recent publication in the Lancet has estimated at the current pace that ~1.3 billion people will be living with diabetes by 2050 – a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The authors concluded, “Diabetes will be a defining disease of this century,” and that “the world has underestimated the true scale and threat the disease poses…representing an urgent call to course correct.” “The cardiometabolic assets and novel delivery platforms we have at i2o are important at a time when global policy and health officials are increasingly concerned by soaring diabetes and obesity prevalence rates and the massive implications that poor glucose and weight control will have on healthcare systems, societies, and global economies for decades to come,” said Kurt Graves, Chairman, President and CEO of i2o Therapeutics. “At i2o, our ultimate goal is to be an important part of the novel GLP-1 based combination products and innovative drug delivery solutions that are needed to raise the standards of care, address widespread unmet needs around poor control and poor adherence, and to help remove the barriers to access, affordability, and supply that are needed to help millions of patients.” Mr. Graves has provided leadership to several highly innovative biotech and global pharmaceutical companies over the last 30 years. He has previously served as Chairman, President and CEO of Intarcia Therapeutics, former Chairman of Radius Health, former Executive Chairman of i2o Therapeutics, and as a Board member at Achillion Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired, and at Seres Health. He was also E&Y’s New England Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015. Previously, Mr. Graves served as EVP, Head of Corporate Development, Strategic Drug Development and Program Management and Head of Commercial at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he was at Novartis Pharmaceuticals for nearly 10 years, most recently as the Global Head of the General and Specialty Medicines Business and the first Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Pharmaceuticals division. Earlier in his career, at Merck and Astra-Merck for nearly 10 years, he worked on multiple cardiovascular and GI medicines and led the GI Business Unit responsible for developing and commercializing Prilosec®, Nexium® and Prilosec OTC®. About i2o Therapeutics i2o Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company that was founded in 2019 to exploit the versatile properties of ionic liquids for producing oral biologics and peptides. i2o has also acquired wholly owned proprietary peptides with an intent to advance novel therapies for serious cardiometabolic diseases. As a complement to the oral ionic liquids approach, i2o also owns the rights to a sustained delivery system (small osmotic implants - Medici™) that enables just twice-yearly maintenance dosing of chronic medications. With this scope of platform technologies and proprietary peptides, i2o’s initial aim is to form strategic partnerships and to advance meaningful innovations that achieve a new standard of care for patients suffering from T2DM, Obesity, and related diseases. Over time, i2o’s platforms will also be leveraged for other opportunities and collaborations. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements regarding the application and use of Ionic Liquids (ILs) technology in the development therapeutics for cardio-metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases, and other partnered and target indications, the efficacy and safety of oral biologic products and combination peptides, patient delivery experience and compliance, the integration of acquired assets with our IL-platform, oral combination of a GLP-1 and other co-agonist peptides, our scientific collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and the potential outcomes of such collaborations, our planned preclinical and clinical programs and studies, the use of proceeds our from our Series A financing, and the potential commercialization of our products and partnership as compared to existing treatment options, among others. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are considered forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as “aims”, “anticipates,” “believes,” “continues,” “goal,” “could,” “estimates,” “scheduled,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “indicate,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” “strategy,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. Statements of past performance, efforts, or results of our preclinical and clinical trials, about which inferences or assumptions may be made, can also be forward-looking statements and are not indicative of future performance or results. Forward-looking statements are neither forecasts, promises nor guarantees, and are based on the current beliefs of i2o Therapeutics’ management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to i2o Therapeutics. Such information may be limited or incomplete, and i2o Therapeutics’ statements should not be read to indicate that it has conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Such statements reflect the current views of i2o Therapeutics with respect to future events and are subject to known and unknown risks, including business, regulatory, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties, contingencies and assumptions about i2o Therapeutics, including, without limitation, (i) the risks and uncertainties associated with the regulatory submission, review and approval process, (ii) the ability of i2o Therapeutics to continue its planned preclinical and clinical development of its development programs, and the timing and success of any such continued preclinical and clinical development and planned regulatory submissions, (iii) i2o Therapeutics’ ability to retain and hire key personnel, (iv) i2o Therapeutics’ ability to obtain additional financing to fund its operations and complete the development and commercialization of its various product candidates, (v) i2o Therapeutics’ ability to successfully commercialize its product candidates and uncertainties around regulatory reviews and approvals, (vi) i2o Therapeutics’ ability to scale its manufacturing and commercial supply operations for its product candidates and future approved products, (vii) i2o Therapeutics’ ability to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce patent protection and other proprietary rights for its product candidates and technologies, and (viii) the unknown future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain clinical trials or their milestones and/or i2o Therapeutics’ business operations or operating expenses. i2oTherapeutics cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. i2o Therapeutics does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement or other information in this press release, except to the extent required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts Lauren Arnold MacDougall Advisors Larnold@macdougall.bio Source: i2o Therapeutics, Inc. View this news release online at:

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLRX), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis, today announced the appointments of Darren Cline and Thomas McCourt to its Board of Directors. "I am pleased to welcome Darren and Thomas whose extensive commercial and operational expertise will be crucial as we progress toward late-stage clinical development,” said Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pliant Therapeutics. “I am confident that their insights and experience will prove invaluable as we execute on our strategy to bring potentially transformative therapeutics to patients.” Mr. Cline is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive with over 30 years of strategic and operational experience in building commercial organizations. Mr. Cline currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of Epygenix Therapeutics, a clinical stage company developing therapies for rare epilepsies. Prior to this, Mr. Cline served as the U.S. Chief Commercial Officer of GW Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals), where he was responsible for commercial and medical affairs activities associated with Epidiolex®. Prior to joining GW Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Cline held the role of Executive Vice President, Commercial at Seagen where he managed operations with the commercial launch of Adcetris®. Prior to joining Seagen, Mr. Cline held key commercial leadership roles at Intermune, Alexion and Amgen. Mr. Cline currently serves on the board of directors of Pyxis Oncology. Mr. Cline received his B.S. in Business Marketing from San Diego State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Mr. McCourt is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience building commercial strategies and capabilities across multiple companies. Mr. McCourt currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, a role he has held since June 2021. Since joining Ironwood in 2009, Mr. McCourt has served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Chief Commercial Officer, and President, leading the commercial launch of LINZESS®, now a blockbuster product. Prior to joining Ironwood, Mr. McCourt led the U.S. brand team for Prolia® at Amgen and held several senior commercial roles within Novartis AG, including leading the launch and growth of ZELNORM™. In addition, Mr. McCourt was a founding team member at Astra Merck Inc., where he led the development of the medical affairs and science liaison group, and then served as brand manager for PRILOSEC® and NEXIUM®. Mr. McCourt also served as an independent director and chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee at Acceleron Pharma before their acquisition. In 2022, he received the ASGE President’s Award in recognition of his pivotal contribution to the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy and treatment. Mr. McCourt received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy and Pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions, or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those regarding development of our product candidates and corporate strategy. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on our current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of Pliant Therapeutics could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those related to the development and commercialization of our product candidates, including any delays in our ongoing or planned preclinical or clinical trials, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations, clinical supply and plans, our reliance on third parties for critical aspects of our development operations, the risks inherent in the drug development process, the risks regarding the accuracy of our estimates of expenses and timing of development, our capital requirements and the need for additional financing, and our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates. These and additional risks are discussed in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2021 which we filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022, as updated by our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, which we filed with the SEC on November 8, 2022, each available on the SEC's website at Unless otherwise noted, Pliant is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. Pliant Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis. Pliant's lead product candidate, bexotegrast (PLN-74809), is an oral small molecule dual selective inhibitor of αvß6 and αvß1 integrins that is in development in the lead indications for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC. Bexotegrast has received Fast Track Designation and Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in IPF and PSC and Orphan Drug Designation from the European Medicines Agency in IPF and PSC. Pliant is currently conducting Phase 2a trials of bexotegrast in the lead indications of IPF and PSC. Pliant has also developed PLN-1474, a small molecule, selective inhibitor of αvß1 for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH with liver fibrosis. Pliant is initiating a Phase 1 study for its third clinical program, PLN-101095, a small molecule, dual-selective inhibitor of αvß8 and αvß1 integrins, that is being developed for the treatment of solid tumors. In addition to clinical stage programs, Pliant currently has a preclinical program targeting muscular dystrophies. For additional information about Pliant Therapeutics, visit and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Investor and Media Contact: Christopher Keenan Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. IR@Pliantrx.com

HAMPTON, N.J., June 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) announced today that it has appointed Cheryl L. Cohen and Dr. Garry Neil to the company’s Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to welcome Cheryl and Garry to our Board of Directors during an important time for Celldex,” said Anthony Marucci, Co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Celldex Therapeutics. “Their combined expertise brings well rounded experience to provide guidance as we progress our clinical and corporate goals. I am confident that they will offer valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our development strategy.” Ms. Cohen has served as President of CLC Consulting, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology consulting firm that specializes in new product start-ups and commercialization. From August 2011 to July 2014, Ms. Cohen served as Chief Commercial Officer of Medivation, Inc., where she built the company’s commercial organization and lead her team to successfully launch the oncology drug, Xtandi®. Prior to joining Medivation, Ms. Cohen spent over ten years at Johnson & Johnson, most notably as Vice President of the Rheumatology Franchise. Ms. Cohen began her career at Solvay Pharmaceuticals in management and sales. Ms. Cohen currently serves on the Board of Directors of MEI Pharma, Immunity Bio (previously NantKwest) and Ignyte Acquisition Corp., all of which are publicly traded companies. She earned a B. A. degree from Saint Joseph College. Dr. Neil has served as Chief Executive Officer at Avalo Therapeutics (formerly Cerecor, Inc.), a publicly held biotechnology company. Prior to that, Dr. Neil was Senior Scientific Adviser and Chief Scientific Officer at Avalo since its February 2020 merger with Aevi Genomic Medicine, Inc., a biotechnology company where Dr. Neil had served as Chief Scientific Officer from September 2013 to February 2020. Prior to joining Aevi, Dr. Neil was a Partner at Apple Tree Partners, a life science private equity firm, from September 2012 to September 2013, and held a number of senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including most recently Corporate Vice President of Science & Technology at Johnson & Johnson from November 2007 to August 2012. Prior to these roles, Dr. Neil served as Group President at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Vice President of Research & Development at Merck KGaA/EMD Pharmaceuticals, and Vice President of Clinical Research at AstraZeneca and Astra Merck. Dr. Neil has served on the Board of Directors of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since February 2017 and as its Chair since February 2021. From August 2016 to May 2019, he previously served on the board of GTx, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. He is a member of the board of the Center for Discovery and Innovation of the Hackensack Meridian Medical School in Hackensack, New Jersey and is the Founding Chairman of TransCelerate Biopharma, Inc., a non-profit pharmaceuticals industry Research & Development consortium, and is a past member of the TransCelerate Board from 2012 to 2019. He served on the board of Reagan Udall Foundation for the FDA from 2007 – 2021, the board of Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2010 – 2012 and on the Science Management Review board of the NIH from 2010 - 2012. Dr. Neil is also the past Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) Science and Regulatory Executive Committee and the PhRMA Foundation board. Dr. Neil holds a B.S. from the University of Saskatchewan and an M.D. from the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine. He completed postdoctoral clinical training in internal medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Neil also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic. About Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.Celldex is a clinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing monoclonal and bispecific antibodies that address devastating diseases for which available treatments are inadequate. Our pipeline includes antibody-based therapeutics which have the ability to engage the human immune system and/or directly affect critical pathways to improve the lives of patients with inflammatory diseases and many forms of cancer. Visit www.celldex.com. Forward Looking Statement This release contains "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are typically preceded by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "will," "may," "should," or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct or that those goals will be achieved, and you should be aware that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our ability to successfully complete research and further development and commercialization of Company drug candidates, including barzolvolimab (also referred to as CDX-0159), in current or future indications; the uncertainties inherent in clinical testing and accruing patients for clinical trials; our limited experience in bringing programs through Phase 3 clinical trials; our ability to manage and successfully complete multiple clinical trials and the research and development efforts for our multiple products at varying stages of development; the effects of the outbreak of COVID-19 on our business and results of operations; the availability, cost, delivery and quality of clinical materials produced by our own manufacturing facility or supplied by contract manufacturers, who may be our sole source of supply; the timing, cost and uncertainty of obtaining regulatory approvals; the failure of the market for the Company's programs to continue to develop; our ability to protect the Company's intellectual property; the loss of any executive officers or key personnel or consultants; competition; changes in the regulatory landscape or the imposition of regulations that affect the Company's products; our ability to continue to obtain capital to meet our long-term liquidity needs on acceptable terms, or at all, including the additional capital which will be necessary to complete the clinical trials that we have initiated or plan to initiate; and other factors listed under "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We have no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Company ContactSarah CavanaughSenior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Administration(508) 864-8337scavanaugh@celldex.com Patrick TillSenior Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications(484) 788-8560ptill@celldex.com