WATERTOWN, Mass., April 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SELB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the full potential of biologic therapies based on its immune tolerance platform, ImmTOR™, today announced the appointment of Dr. Goran Ando to its Board of Directors, replacing Amir Nashat, effective April 24, 2020. Amir will continue to serve in an advisory capacity to Selecta.
“The addition of Dr. Ando to our Board means that Selecta now has another proven leader with a successful track record in product development and commercialization,” said Carrie S. Cox, Chairman of the Board, Selecta Biosciences. “This addition to our team puts us in a position of strength for the next evolution of ImmTOR – initiating the Phase 3 clinical trial of SEL-212, bringing our gene therapy program into the clinic, and applying the platform in other areas of significant unmet need. I would also like to recognize Amir Nashat for his long-term commitment to our organization and the important role he played in advancing Selecta’s scientific platform. From an early stage, Amir recognized the potential of ImmTOR for patients with serious diseases, and I want to thank him for helping put Selecta in the position it is in today.”
“The opportunity to work alongside the Selecta team to advance the ImmTOR platform is of undeniable interest to me,” said Dr. Ando. “The ability to re-dose patients with AAV gene therapy may be pivotal in improving outcomes, while Selecta’s late-stage asset in chronic refractory gout could provide patients with this debilitating disease a much-needed alternative. I look forward to being part of the effort to increase the applicability of the ImmTOR platform for the benefit of patients.”
Dr. Ando brings more than 37 years of experience as a respected global pharmaceutical leader. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for Eyepoint Pharma, and holds seats on the Boards of Parexel, Tessa Therapeutics, and EUSA Pharma. He is also the retired Chairman of the Board of Novo Nordisk A/S. Dr. Ando began his pharmaceutical industry career as Medical Director of Pfizer AB, progressing to Director, Clinical Research with Pfizer International in the U.S. He went on to hold various senior positions at leading global healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses, including Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. He was the VP, Medical and Scientific Affairs at Bristol-Myers Squibb before taking the role of President of the Astra Research Centre in Sweden. In 1989, Dr. Ando joined GlaxoSmithKline, where he held various senior appointments, including Research & Development Director for Glaxo Group Research. He later joined Pharmacia AB as Executive Vice President, and ascended to Deputy CEO in 1995, moving to the U.S. in 1997 to lead R&D with additional responsibilities for manufacturing, information technology, business development and M&A. During his eight-year tenure as Head of R&D at Pharmacia/Pharmacia & Upjohn, 17 new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration prior to Pharmacia’s acquisition by Pfizer for $60 billion. He then served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cell Tech Group PLC, one of the most successful European biotech companies, until it was acquired by UCB Pharma for $3 billion in 2005. He has been a Senior Adviser to leading specialist healthcare investment group Essex Woodlands since 2007. Dr. Ando received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Uppsala University in Sweden and Doctor of Medicine degree from Linköping University in Sweden.
About Selecta Biosciences, Inc.
Selecta Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the full potential of biologic therapies based on its immune tolerance (ImmTOR) platform. Selecta plans to combine ImmTOR with a range of biologic therapies for rare and serious diseases that require new treatment options due to high immunogenicity. The company’s current proprietary pipeline includes ImmTOR-powered therapeutic enzyme and gene therapy product candidates. SEL-212, the company’s lead product candidate, is being developed to treat chronic refractory gout patients and resolve their debilitating symptoms, including flares and gouty arthritis. Selecta’s proprietary gene therapy product candidates are in preclinical development for certain rare inborn errors of metabolism and incorporate ImmTOR with the goal of addressing barriers to repeat administration. Selecta is based in Watertown, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit http://selectabio.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about the future expectations, plans and prospects of Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (“the company”), including without limitation, statements regarding the progress of the clinical development of SEL-212, expectations surrounding the enrollment and design of the Phase 2 head-to-head (COMPARE) clinical trial comparing SEL-212 and Krystexxa, timing of related data readouts and the ability of the COMPARE results to inform the planned Phase 3 clinical trial of SEL-212, the anticipated timing of the planned Phase 3 clinical trial, whether the head-to-head trial with Krystexxa will demonstrate superiority, the unique proprietary technology platform of the company and the unique proprietary platform of its partners, the potential of ImmTOR to enable re-dosing of AAV gene therapy, the potential of SEL-212 to fulfill unmet needs in chronic refractory gout patients including sustained SUA reduction, reduced flares, and once monthly dosing, the company’s commercial plans, the ability of the company’s ImmTOR platform, including SEL-212, to unlock the full potential of biologic therapies, the potential of SEL-212 to treat chronic refractory gout patients and resolve their debilitating symptoms, the potential treatment applications for product candidates utilizing the ImmTOR platform in areas such as enzyme therapy and gene therapy, the ability of the ImmTOR platform to enhance transgene expression, the ability of the Company and AskBio to develop gene therapy products using ImmTOR and AskBio’s core technology, the novelty of treatment paradigms that the Company and AskBio are able to develop, the potential of any therapies developed by the Company and AskBio to fulfill unmet medical needs, AskBio’s ability to make milestone payments, AskBio’s ability to develop and commercialize a drug product containing ImmTOR for the treatment of Pompe disease, the company’s plan to apply its ImmTOR technology platform to a range of biologics for rare and serious diseases, the potential of the company’s two gene therapy product candidates to enable repeat administration, the Company’s ability to re-dose patients and the potential of ImmTOR to allow for re-dosing, the potential of the ImmTOR technology platform generally and the company’s ability to grow its strategic partnerships, the Company’s plans to present at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, the sufficiency of the company’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hypothesize,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, the following: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation, completion and cost of clinical trials including their uncertain outcomes, whether or not the COVID-19 outbreak will impact the company’s ability to initiate a Phase 3 clinical trial for SEL-212 or to initiate a clinical trial in any of its gene therapy programs, the availability and timing of data from ongoing and future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether preliminary results from a particular clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of that trial or whether results of early clinical trials will be indicative of the results of later clinical trials, the unproven approach of the company’s ImmTOR technology, potential delays in enrollment of patients, whether due to the COVID-19 outbreak or for other reasons, other issues surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak which may cause the company to discontinue or pause its ongoing or planned clinical trials, undesirable side effects of the company’s product candidates, its reliance on third parties to manufacture its product candidates and to conduct its clinical trials who could be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak or could otherwise materially fail to perform, the company’s inability to maintain its existing or future collaborations, licenses or contractual relationships, its inability to protect its proprietary technology and intellectual property, management’s ability to perform as expected, potential delays in regulatory approvals, the availability of funding sufficient for its foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, the company’s recurring losses from operations and negative cash flows from operations raise substantial doubt regarding its ability to continue as a going concern, substantial fluctuation in the price of its common stock, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the company’s operations, including its supply chain, clinical and financial operations, and other important factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in other filings that the company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the company’s views only as of the date of its publication and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The company specifically disclaims any intention to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release.
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