WATERTOWN, Mass., Oct. 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTPH), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibiotics to treat life-threatening multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections, today announced the appointment of Kamalam (Kam) Unninayar as Chief Financial Officer.
Kam joins Tetraphase with a track record of over two decades of financial leadership in the life sciences and consumer goods industries. Most recently, Kam spent over 11 years overseeing finance organizations at Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global leader in serving science. Across her multiple roles at Thermo Fisher, she led financial operations, corporate financial planning and analysis, and finance for business strategy. During her tenure there, Kam led finance for the customer channels group, the chemical analysis division, and businesses with revenues that ranged from $200 million to $4 billion.
"We are delighted to welcome Kam at this exciting time for the Company," said Guy Macdonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tetraphase. "Kam’s strong financial leadership experience and strategic business insight will be a valuable addition to the executive team at Tetraphase, particularly as we continue to build the infrastructure to support the commercialization of eravacycline, our lead antibiotic candidate.”
“I am thrilled to join Tetraphase, a company committed to bringing innovative medicines to patients to address the growing public health crisis of antibiotic resistance,” said Ms. Unninayar. “At this pivotal time for the company, I look forward to working with the team as it prepares to deliver on this mission.”
Kam holds a master of science in administration from Wichita State University, as well as a master of finance & control and bachelor of commerce from the University of Delhi, India.
Inducement Equity Awards
Additionally, Tetraphase's Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved, pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, options to Ms. Unninayar to purchase 190,000 shares of Tetraphase's common stock. The option was granted as an inducement equity award outside Tetraphase's 2013 Stock Incentive Plan and was made as an inducement material to Ms. Unninayar’s acceptance of employment with Tetraphase. The option grant has an exercise price equal to the closing price of Tetraphase's common stock on November 15, 2017. The option has a ten-year term and vests over four years, with 25% of the original number of shares vesting on November 15, 2018 and an additional 6.25% of the original number of shares vesting at the end of each successive quarter thereafter, subject to Ms. Unninayar’s continued service with Tetraphase through the applicable vesting dates.
About Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tetraphase is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company using its proprietary chemistry technology to create novel antibiotics for serious and life-threatening bacterial infections, including those caused by many of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria highlighted as urgent public health threats by the CDC. Tetraphase has created more than 3,000 novel tetracycline analogs using its proprietary technology platform. Tetraphase's pipeline includes three antibiotic clinical candidates: eravacycline, which is in phase 3 clinical development, and TP-271 and TP-6076, which are in phase 1 clinical trials. Please visit www.tphase.com for more company information.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about our future expectations, plans and prospects, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, prospects, plans and objectives, and other statements containing the words "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "plans," "will" 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: whether the results of the Company's development efforts will warrant regulatory submission and whether any such submissions will receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether, if any clinical candidate obtains approval, it will be successfully distributed and marketed; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 2, 2017. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of October 16, 2017. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so.
Investor Contacts:
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals
Teri Dahlman
617-600-7040
tdahlman@tphase.com
Argot Partners
Maeve Conneighton
206.899.4940
maeve@argotpartners.com
Media Contact:
Sam Brown Inc.
Mike Beyer
312-961-2502
Mikebeyer@sambrown.com