PharmAthene, Inc.

→ When Mythic Therapeutics CEO Alex Nichols spoke to Endpoints News last December about the biotech’s $103 million Series B , he and fellow co-founder Brian Fiske emphasized safety, saying that they’re “really working on trying to overcome what has been one of the most historically challenging obstacles to realizing the full potential of ADCs.” But Mythic will have to look for someone else to take up that mantle. Nichols has moved on from the Waltham, MA-based biotech “in order to pursue new opportunities,” while Fiske remains CSO. Additionally, Mythic’s new chief development officer is Daiichi Sankyo vet Gilles Gallant , who knows ADCs well from his work with Enhertu as global head of oncology clinical development. Gallant came to Daiichi Sankyo in 2017 from BioMarin , where he was VP, oncology clinical sciences, and he also held several oncology posts at Bristol Myers Squibb from 1991-2002. Fiske, Gallant and COO Sandra Poole will run the company until a CEO is found. → Taking aim at IL-2 and IL-18, Versant upstart Bright Peak Therapeutics has tapped Jon Wigginton as president of R&D. At Bristol Myers, he ran early clinical development of an I/O portfolio that produced the Opdivo / Vervoy combo therapy — which went on to collect multiple approvals after his departure. The CMO of MacroGenics from 2013-20 and a 15-year vet of the National Cancer Institute, Wigginton then took off for Cullinan Oncology , first as medical chief and later as senior advisor and chairman of its scientific advisory board. Unlike many other biotechs that are struggling to scale craggy financial mountains, Bright Peak isn’t strapped for cash after a $107 million Series B in June 2021. → As Amber Tong told you at the start of the week, Thomas Willemsen will take over as CEO of Singapore’s Tessa Therapeutics on Oct. 1. Several chief executives have shuttled in and out of the CAR-T biotech, including Jeff Buchalter , Andrew Khoo , and acting chief John Ng , who will slide into the role of chief technical officer. Willemsen winds down his three-year run at Takeda , where he was SVP, Asia-Pacific, and he held multiple leadership posts in China and Taiwan within a 10-year period at GSK . His connection to the Asia-Pacific region began at Merck KGaA, but he ended his time at the multinational as head of its German oncology business unit in 2009. → Another week, another big Kriya Therapeutics appointment: This time, the gene therapy joint led by Shankar Ramaswamy has recruited Curt Herberts as president and COO. Herberts breaks away from Tim Lu ’s crew at Senti Biosciences , where he juggled the CFO and CBO posts from 2018-21 and had been COO since last year. He also had an eight-year run at Sangamo , ascending to business chief in 2016. Kriya welcomed Pedro Huertas just last week as CMO of its rare disease division. → Celsius Therapeutics has appointed Sarah Grant as CMO. Grant joins from Novartis, where she most recently served as chief of staff and strategic assistant for the head of global drug development. Her other roles at Novartis included head of respiratory discovery within translational medicine and roles in the pulmonary and immunology indications. Prior to her career at Novartis, Grant was with Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. → Liz McKee Anderson has left the board of directors at monkeypox vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic to take a board seat at GSK . McKee Anderson rounded out her 11-year tenure with Janssen in 2014 as the worldwide VP and commercial leader in infectious diseases and vaccines, and she sits on the boards of BioMarin, Revolution Medicines, Insmed and Aro Biotherapeutics . Dana-Farber president and CEO Laurie Glimcher will step down from the board on Oct. 13, an announcement that was made during a busy few months at the pharma giant that have included the Sierra Oncology buyout , the wobbly start to the consumer health spinoff Haleon , and an ADC deal with Mersana Therapeutics . → Ex- CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo will chair what’s currently known as J&J ’s New Consumer Health Company, which will be helmed by Thibaut Mongon . The announcement comes after Mathai Mammen shockingly split the scene as the pharma giant’s R&D chief a couple weeks ago, with William Hait — J&J’s EVP, chief external innovation, medical safety and global public health officer — pinch-hitting in the interim. The consumer health split is slated to take effect next year. → Against the backdrop of last month’s Phase III dud with its alcohol use disorder drug AD04 , Adial Pharmaceuticals has appointed Cary Claiborne as CEO while William Stilley — Adial’s chief executive since 2010 — becomes CEO of the Virginia biotech’s subsidiary Purnovate . Claiborne joined Adial last December as COO, and he’s made several stops as a CFO with such companies as Indivior , Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Osiris Therapeutics . One other snippet of Adial info: Kevin Schuyler , a board member since 2016, has been named chairman. → In wait-and-see mode after the FDA imposed an islatravir -related hold on HIV candidate BRII-732 , Brii Biosciences has welcomed Eleanor de Groot as chief technology officer and Aleksandar Skuban as CNS diseases therapy area head. A former Helsinn exec, de Groot was with Alaunos Therapeutics (known as Ziopharm until January ) since 2015 and had served as EVP of operations for almost a year. After a handful of posts in a seven-year period with Otsuka , Skuban headed to Alexion as executive medical director in its ophthalmology therapeutic area. Since last November, he had been SVP of clinical development at Better Therapeutics . → No sooner had the gene therapy drug Zynteglo been approved for transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia than Anne-Virginie Eggimann was out of the picture at bluebird bio . Two days removed from the Zynteglo triumph, she’s now the chief regulatory officer at Flagship gene writing outfit Tessera Therapeutics after a year in the same position at bluebird and 11 years overall. And Derica Rice , who had a 27-year career with Eli Lilly before joining CVS Health, has been elected to Tessera’s board of directors. Kyle LaHucik has more about this move at Tessera , currently run by former AbbVie exec Michael Severino . → Lauren Sabella is out as COO of Acorda Therapeutics , which sent pink slips to 15% of its staff nearly a year ago and has felt the budget crunch before. With the resignation, effective Sept. 30, SVPs Sofia Ali and Susan Way will be splitting COO duties. Sabella spent six years with Boehringer Ingelheim and was Acorda’s chief commercial officer for 11 years before she was named operations chief in September 2021, when the recent round of job cuts took hold at the Inbrija maker. → The resignations don’t stop there: Acerus Pharmaceuticals CEO Robert Motz will exit stage left, but it won’t take effect until Nov. 20, which buys some time for the Toronto-based men’s health company to find a successor. Motz had handled finances at Acerus since October 2018. → Biotheryx has enlisted Tracy Lawhon as chief development officer, the latest C-suite move at the San Diego protein degradation shop after CFO Jeff Caravella ’s appointment in April. For the last year and change, Lawhon was VP of strategic development and clinical operations with Flagship’s Valo Health . She’s also held posts at Eli Lilly , Novartis and Schering-Plough Research Institute. → Swiss I/O startup CDR-Life , which hit paydirt with a $76 million Series A from RA Capital , Jeito Capital and Omega Funds in April, has installed Swethajit Biswas as CMO. At Adaptimmune , Biswas was the development leader for MAGE-A4, the type of T cell engager that CDR-Life is hoping to push into the clinic first with CDR404 . He was also a clinical director in oncology drug development during his five years with GSK. → Another company that notched a Series A round in April — Bay Area startup Ansa Biotechnologies — has recruited Jeremiah Hanes as SVP of R&D. Hanes spent the last 13 years at Pacific Biosciences , starting as a senior scientist and working his way up to VP of reagents R&D in 2020. Northpond Ventures led the group of investors that contributed to the $68 million round for Ansa, built on CEO Daniel Lin-Arlow ’s assertion that it has the “best DNA synthesis method in the world.” → Nov. 1 will be Henriette Wennicke ’s first day as CFO of Zealand Pharma , the Danish biotech that has suffered from lackluster sales with Zegalogue and chopped 90% of its US staff while changing CEOs. Wennicke spent a decade with Novo Nordisk before jumping to GN Group , where she’s now VP and head of investor relations and treasury at hearing aid maker GN Store Nord . In May, Zealand whistled a different tune with Zegalogue after hitting its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial for children aged 7 days to 12 months with congenital hyperinsulinism. → To the beautiful state of Utah we go — Peer Review recommends a visit to any one of its national parks — as Salt Lake City-based Elevar Therapeutics promotes Wade Smith to CFO. Smith had been head of US institutional commercial/finance at Viatris before pivoting to Elevar as VP of finance in January. Elevar has continued to assemble its C-suite with the additions of chief commercial officer Paul Friel , CMO Jan Van Tornout , and chief regulatory officer Gordon Schooley after bringing in Alnylam vet Saeho Chong as CEO in March. → Tom Van Blarcom has stepped up to the plate as SVP, head of research at Kyverna Therapeutics , an autoimmune disease biotech that garnered an $85 million Series B round in January for its synReg approach to CAR-T therapies. Van Blarcom, who succeeds CSO and scientific co-founder Jeffrey Greve , is a Pfizer alum who joined David Chang ’s squad at Allogene as interim head of translational sciences in 2020 and eventually became the CAR-T player’s executive director, head of protein engineering and research operations. → San Diego-based biotech Plexium — which struck a deal with AbbVie in April — has welcomed Daniel Sipes to the team as SVP, head of technology. Prior to his new role, Sipes was SVP, strategy and operations, site head San Diego at Strateos . Before that, Sipes had gigs at Novartis Research Foundation, Kalypsys and Ligand Pharmaceuticals . → Thinking big picture with its COPD drug ensifentrine after positive Phase III data were the catalyst for a public offering — an approach used by many a biotech these days — Verona Pharma has made two commercial hires with Matthew Casbon as VP of sales, marketing and training, and Matthew Rysavy as VP of market access and trade. Casbon and Rysavy were both at Salix Pharmaceuticals at the same time, with Casbon as associate VP of marketing and Rysavy climbing up to the role of senior national account manager Casbon was recently CBO of Target RWE , and Rysavy had been head of market access and trade since 2018 at BioDelivery Sciences International . → Mark Dizon has left BeiGene to take on the role of general counsel at AbbVie partner Frontier Medicines , a protein degradation player which is targeting the KRAS-G12C mutation. Dizon was BeiGene’s assistant general counsel and chief compliance officer since 2018, and the Novartis vet has also been a compliance exec with Affymax , Actelion , Relypsa and Prothena . → Irvine, CA-based AI medtech GATC Health has named Robert Sorrentino as CMO. Before founding his own consulting firm, Sorrentino filled an array of AI roles, including chief medical scientist at the IBM Watson Research Center. → Allucent is picking up Steffany Cox as chief marketing officer. Before making her way to Allucent, Cox served in roles at Labcorp (SVP of product management and segment growth), Covance and Eli Lilly. → Biosion has named Steven Knapp as chief regulatory & quality officer. Most recently, Knapp was SVP of global regulatory and quality at Antares Pharmaceuticals . Before that, Knapp served at Valeant Pharmaceuticals . → Biorchestra has signed on Gabriel Helmlinger as VP, head of translational & clinical pharmacology, toxicology. Helmlinger has had stints at Novartis, AstraZeneca and Obsidian Therapeutics . → Brent Saunders is making an appearance on the board of directors of GLO Pharma . Since his departure from Allergan , Saunders chairs the board at OcuTerra and is executive chairman of The Beauty Health Company , a merger between The HydraFacial Company and Vesper Healthcare Acquisition Corp . → Boasting a Phase III win for patisiran to treat ATTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, Alnylam has reserved space for ex-Bristol Myers CSO and R&D chief Elliott Sigal on the board of directors. Sigal co-chairs the SAB at Amgen and has a plethora of board seats at Adaptimmune , Vir Biotechnology , Surface Oncology , Tessera Therapeutics and Affinia Therapeutics . → With its lead drug for membranous nephropathy in early-stage trials after a $70 million Series A in April 2021, ValenzaBio has elected Aurinia CEO Peter Greenleaf to the board of directors. The ex- Cerecor chief has also been a board member at Antares Pharma , which was sold to Halozyme this spring for $960 million . → Jane Bell has joined the board of directors of Mesoblast , the Australian stem cell therapy biotech that has been reeling from broken Big Pharma partnerships and late-stage flops. The deputy chair of Monash Health , Bell is also a board member at Melbourne-based Amplia Therapeutics . → Now partnering with Pfizer on an old AstraZeneca drug named RIST4721 after initially striking the deal with Arena last summer, Aristea Therapeutics has added Poseida Therapeutics CEO Mark Gergen and Novo Ventures partner Daniel O’Connell to the board of directors. Michael Vincent , SVP and CSO of Pfizer’s inflammation and immunology research unit, will be a board observer. → Sequana Medical has appointed Alexandra Clyde to its board of directors, taking over for Erik Amble, who is stepping down. Clyde is SVP of global health economics, policy and reimbursement for Medtronic .

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, today announced that Bill Enright, President and Chief Executive Officer will provide a corporate overview at the Dawson James Securities 4th Annual Small Cap Growth Conference being held at the Wyndham Grand Jupiter Hotel, Jupiter, Florida. Details of the presentation are as follows: Dawson James Securities 4th Annual Small Cap Growth Conference Details: Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 Time: 4:00 pm Location: Wyndham Grand Jupiter Hotel, Jupiter, Florida About Altimmune Altimmune is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company focused on the development of products to stimulate robust and durable immune responses for the prevention and treatment of infectious disease. NasoVAX our influenza vaccine candidate has unique characteristics, stimulating multiple arms of the immune system that offer the potential to stop infection and the spread of flu, while being easier to administer through an intranasal spray. NasoShield is a next-generation anthrax vaccine candidate that is intended to improve protection and safety while having favorable dosage and storage requirements compared to other anthrax vaccines. Forward-Looking Statement Any statements made in this press release relating to future financial or business performance, conditions, plans, prospects, trends, or strategies and other financial and business matters, including without limitation, the prospects for commercializing or selling any product or drug candidates, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, when or if used in this press release, the words “may,” “could,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “predict” and similar expressions and their variants, as they relate to Altimmune, Inc. (the “Company”) may identify forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, which change over time. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements or historical experience include risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to: the terms of the Company’s Series B preferred stock offering and related warrants; our lack of financial resources and access to capital; realizing the benefits of the merger between Altimmune, Inc. and PharmAthene, Inc.; our ability to utilize the benefits of our tax assets and the results of a tax examination initiated by the IRS; clinical trials and the commercialization of proposed product candidates (such as marketing, regulatory, product liability, supply, competition, dependence on third parties and other risks); the regulatory approval process; dependence on intellectual property; the Company’s BARDA contract and other government programs, reimbursement and regulation. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect the Company's business, financial conditions and results of operations are contained in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. Contacts Bill Enright President and CEO Phone: 240-654-1450 Email: enright@altimmune.com Ashley R. Robinson Managing Director LifeSci Advisors Phone: 617-535-7742 Email: arr@lifesciadvisors.com NEXT ARTICLE More From BioPortfolio on "Altimmune to Present at Dawson James Securities 4th Annual Small Cap Growth Conference" Related Companies Related Clinical Trials Related PubMed Entries Related Medications

A statistically superior mucosal immune response providing a first line of defense against infection Six-month data demonstrates: A statistically superior mucosal immune response providing a first line of defense against infection; A durable serum immune response at six months compared to over 50% decline with Fluzone®; Continued clean safety profile. GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, today announced additional positive data from a Phase 2a study of its NasoVAX intranasal influenza vaccine candidate. The Company previously announced positive results from the study in 60 healthy individuals, in which NasoVAX was well-tolerated at all doses, resulted in 100% seroprotection at the two highest dose levels and elicited influenza neutralizing antibodies similar to Fluzone® (a licensed injected influenza vaccine). NasoVAX also demonstrated the ability to elicit a significant T cell immune response as compared to Fluzone. Subjects were followed for an additional six months after vaccination to assess durability of the antibody response. These new NasoVAX data demonstrate (a) a durable, dose dependent protective immune response, (b) significant mucosal immune response one month after vaccination compared to both placebo and Fluzone, and (c) a clean safety profile. An influenza specific mucosal antibody (IgA) response was demonstrated at all dose levels of NasoVAX, with the highest responses in the highest dose groups, while Fluzone and placebo groups demonstrated no response. Mucosal antibodies can be found in tears, saliva and nasal mucous and are a first line of immune defense thereby preventing influenza infection at the site of entry in the respiratory tract. Serum antibody levels for NasoVAX were very stable through at least six months (the last time point tested), unlike Fluzone where antibody levels declined by over 50% during that time period. Flu season typically runs from October through March in the northern hemisphere according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), but most individuals are vaccinated very early in the Fall. The fact that NasoVAX induced antibodies that were very stable over the six month follow up period may indicate a higher likelihood of protection throughout the entire flu season. “The data are consistent with our expectations and we are quite pleased to see such impressive results. With strong seroprotection, clear dose-dependent results, unique T cell and mucosal immune responses and a clean safety profile, we are extremely encouraged by the data and look forward to initiating additional Phase 2 studies in 2019,” said William J. Enright, president and chief executive officer of Altimmune. “We have not seen the breadth of immune responses like these from other influenza vaccines, and we are excited to continue to advance development of this important product candidate.” Mr. Enright continued, “NasoVAX is egg-free and needle-free. We believe that an intranasally administered flu vaccine will be preferred by patients over traditional injected vaccines. Additionally, because NasoVax is grown in cell culture instead of in chicken eggs, we believe NasoVax will eliminate the risk of egg allergies with the potential to enable us to more quickly mass produce vaccine at scale and have potentially better matches to annual circulating strains. We believe NasoVAX to be a very differentiated and superior vaccine to those available on the market right now.” Earlier this year, the Company announced initial data from the Phase 2a trial, which demonstrated 100% seroprotection for the middle and high dose groups of NasoVAX as compared to 95% seroprotection with Fluzone. Mean serum antibody titers against influenza, as measured by the hemagglutinin inhibition and microneutralization assays increased up to 4.3-fold and 5.2-fold respectively, indicating that high levels of immunity were induced in this study population even with prior immunity to the influenza strain (A/California/04/2009). The serum neutralizing antibody responses were also robust and dose dependent. Seroconversion rates and breadth of antibody response were comparable to Fluzone for the highest NasoVAX dose tested. Additionally, compared to Fluzone, the highest dose of NasoVAX induced over nearly 6-fold higher levels of influenza cellular immunity, an important element in stopping the flu virus from spreading. Cellular immunity also has the potential to fight against mismatched strains. All doses of NasoVAX were well tolerated and there were no cases of fever, serious adverse events (SAEs) or discontinuations. Rates of local and systemic side effects did not increase with dose and were not statistically different than placebo. The company will present the full data-set from this NasoVAX Phase 2 trial at IDWeek, an international infectious disease conference, in San Francisco, California in October of this year. About the Phase 2a NasoVAX Trial The randomized Phase 2a study compared a monovalent NasoVAX vaccine against an H1 strain of influenza (A/California/04/2009) to intranasal placebo in 60 healthy adults across three dose ranges (10 9 virus particles (vp), 10 10 vp and 10 11 vp). In a parallel open label study, a similar population of 20 subjects were given Fluzone®, a licensed injectable influenza vaccine. Blood samples from both studies were tested and the lab was blinded to treatment assignment. About Altimmune Altimmune is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company focused on the development of products to stimulate robust and durable immune responses for the prevention and treatment of infectious disease. NasoVAX our influenza vaccine candidate has unique characteristics, stimulating multiple arms of the immune system that offer the potential to stop infection and the spread of flu, while being easier to administer through an intranasal spray. NasoShield is a next-generation anthrax vaccine candidate that is intended to improve protection and safety while having favorable dosage and storage requirements compared to other anthrax vaccines. Forward-Looking Statement Any statements made in this press release relating to future financial or business performance, conditions, plans, prospects, trends, or strategies and other financial and business matters, including without limitation, the prospects for commercializing or selling any product or drug candidates, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, when or if used in this press release, the words “may,” “could,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “predict” and similar expressions and their variants, as they relate to Altimmune, Inc. (the “Company”) may identify forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, which change over time. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements or historical experience include risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to: the terms of the Company’s Series B preferred stock offering and related warrants; our lack of financial resources and access to capital; realizing the benefits of the merger between Altimmune, Inc. and PharmAthene, Inc.; our ability to utilize the benefits of our tax assets and the results of a tax examination initiated by the IRS; clinical trials and the commercialization of proposed product candidates (such as marketing, regulatory, product liability, supply, competition, dependence on third parties and other risks); the regulatory approval process; dependence on intellectual property; the Company’s BARDA contract and other government programs, reimbursement and regulation. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect the Company’s business, financial conditions and results of operations are contained in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC, which are available at .