Global Blood Therapeutics to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2015) - Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of severe blood disorders, today announced that its chief executive officer, Ted W. Love, M.D., will present corporate updates at the 33^rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and the 7^th Annual Biotech Showcase Conference, both being held in San Francisco, CA. The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference will take place January 12-15, 2015 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, and the Biotech Showcase conference will take place January 12-14, 2015 at the Parc 55 Wyndham Union Square Hotel.

GBT440, the company's lead drug candidate, is an oral, once daily dosing, direct-acting sickle hemoglobin (HbS) modifier for the chronic, prophylactic treatment of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The drug is a potential best-in-class disease modifier that works by increasing hemoglobin's affinity for oxygen. Since oxygenated hemoglobin does not polymerize, GBT440 blocks polymerization of HbS and the resultant sickling of red blood cells (RBCs). With the promise of restoring normal hemoglobin dynamics, GBT440 may be capable of preventing and halting the progression of SCD.

Details of Dr. Love's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference presentation are as follows:

Date:
Monday, January 12, 2015

Time:
5:00 p.m. (Pacific)

Room/Location:
Elizabethan C/D
Westin St. Francis Hotel

Details of Dr. Love's Biotech Showcase Conference presentation are as follows:

Date:
Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Time:
10:00 a.m. (Pacific)

Room/Location:
Track A - Hearst (4th Floor)
Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco Union Square Hotel

A live audio webcast of Dr. Love's Biotech Showcase presentation will be available at: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/u9atgwr5. A replay of the live audio webcast will be available via this link approximately two hours after the presentation ends and will be accessible for a limited time. Following the presentation, the webcast replay will also be archived on the Company's website at www.globalbloodtx.com.

About Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder caused by a genetic mutation leading to formation of hemoglobin S (HbS). A primary and obligatory event in the molecular pathogenesis of SCD is the polymerization of deoxygenated HbS. This polymerization results in the red blood cell (RBC) sickling that causes the normally flexible RBCs to become rigid with a significantly shorter lifespan.

Sickled RBCs cannot adapt their shape to allow uninterrupted flow through capillaries (smaller blood vessels). Sickled cells, unlike flexible healthy RBCs, stack up against each other, blocking normal blood flow. As a consequence of the resulting vascular occlusion, patients with SCD suffer acute and chronic complications including unpredictable and recurrent episodes of severe pain, progressive organ damage, stroke and a shortened life expectancy.

About Global Blood Therapeutics

Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of severe blood disorders. The company is addressing serious, non-malignant blood-based conditions for which there are currently no effective cures and only limited therapeutic options. Lead drug candidate, GBT440, is a potentially disease-modifying therapeutic for patients with sickle cell disease. GBT440 has shown promising results in preclinical testing and the company is initiating a Phase I/II clinical trial. In addition to GBT440, the company is advancing pipeline research programs addressing hereditary angioedema (HAE) and hypoxic cardiopulmonary disorders. 

To learn more, please visit: www.globalbloodtx.com.