SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achaogen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAO), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative antibacterials addressing multi-drug resistant (MDR) gram-negative infections, today announced the appointment of Dr. Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman of BioCentury Inc., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Bernstein brings to Achaogen significant leadership and three decades of experience writing and publishing on biotechnology developments. In addition, the Company announced that effective July 31, 2017, Alan Colowick, M.D., M.P.H., will step down as a Board member of the Company to focus on his new role as a Partner at Sofinnova Ventures.
“Karen’s extensive knowledge of what makes biotech companies great is second to none and I am honored to have her join our Board. As we pursue regulatory approval of our lead product candidate plazomicin and continue to advance our pipeline, including the clinical development of our second product candidate C-Scape, Karen’s insights will prove invaluable to Achaogen,” said Kenneth Hillan, M.B. Ch.B., Achaogen's Chief Executive Officer. “In addition, Alan’s counsel will be greatly missed and I wish to thank him for his outstanding contributions to our board over the past two years."
“I have followed the mounting issue of multi-drug antibiotic resistance and wholeheartedly support Achaogen’s mission to address this public health crisis that, over the years, has worsened because inadequate therapeutic options contribute to high rates of mortality,” said Dr. Bernstein. "I am excited to join the Achaogen Board and to contribute my insights as the company continues to build on its goal of becoming a leader in the treatment of multi-drug resistant, gram-negative infections.”
About Dr. Bernstein
Dr. Bernstein is currently the Chairman of BioCentury Inc. which she co-founded, and for which she was Chairman and Editor-in-Chief from 1992 to 2015.
Dr. Bernstein has received numerous awards for her contributions to the biotechnology industry including being named one of The WorldVIEW 100 most influential people in biotech today by Scientific American (2015) and receiving a Special Recognition award at the American Liver Foundation's Salute to Excellence, honoring individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to biotechnology and medical innovation (2007).
Dr. Bernstein holds a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.A. in politics and history from Brandeis University, where she served for many years as a member of the Brandeis University Science Advisory Council. She is on the board of trustees of the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) of the Applied Life Sciences and is a member of the board of advisors of KGI's School of Pharmacy. She is a director at Ovid Therapeutics Inc., which is focused on developing drugs for orphan diseases of the brain. From September 2015 to October 2016, she also served on the board of directors of Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was acquired by Allergan plc.
About Achaogen
Achaogen is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company passionately committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative antibacterial treatments for MDR gram-negative infections. Achaogen is developing plazomicin, Achaogen’s lead product candidate, for the treatment of serious bacterial infections due to MDR Enterobacteriaceae, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The Food and Drug Administration has granted plazomicin Breakthrough Therapy designation for the treatment of bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by certain Enterobacteriaceae in patients who have limited or no alternative treatment options. Achaogen’s plazomicin program is funded in part with a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Plazomicin is the first clinical candidate from Achaogen’s gram-negative antibiotic discovery engine, and Achaogen has other programs in early and late preclinical stages focused on other MDR gram-negative infections. All product candidates are investigational only and have not been approved for commercialization. For more information, please visit www.achaogen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, Achaogen’s expectations regarding potential regulatory approval of plazomicin, Achaogen’s commercial objectives and Achaogen’s pipeline of product candidates. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause Achaogen's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in the preclinical and clinical development process; the risks and uncertainties of the regulatory approval process; the risks and uncertainties of commercialization and gaining market acceptance; the risk when bacteria will evolve resistance to plazomicin; Achaogen's reliance on third-party contract manufacturing organizations to manufacture and supply its product candidates and certain raw materials used in the production thereof; risk of third party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate Achaogen's patents or proprietary rights; and the risk that Achaogen's proprietary rights may be insufficient to protect its technologies and product candidates. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Achaogen's business in general, see Achaogen's current and future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2017, filed on May 8, 2017. Achaogen does not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.