Mike Sapieha brings world-class expertise in aging-related ophthalmologic and neurologic diseases
UNITY also names Jason Damiano, Ph.D., as vice president of translational biology and Nathan Guz, Ph.D., as vice president of operations
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITY Biotechnology, Inc. (“UNITY”) [NASDAQ: UBX], a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging, today announced the appointment of Przemyslaw (Mike) Sapieha, Ph.D., as chief scientific advisor. Dr. Sapieha, a world leader in the fundamental biology of age-related diseases of the eye, will be based at UNITY headquarters in South San Francisco, and will join the company in this capacity effective immediately.
“Mike is a long-term UNITY collaborator and an outstanding scientist whose work on the biological pathways impacting age-related eye diseases has been instrumental in the advancement of our Bcl-xL inhibitor, UBX1325, into the clinic,” said Anirvan Ghosh, Ph.D., chief executive officer of UNITY. “Mike brings deep expertise and insight in ophthalmology and neuroscience, and we could not have found a better leader to drive our discovery engine and deliver the next generation of clinical candidates.”
As the Wolfe Professor of Translational Research at the University of Montreal and director of the neurovascular eye disease research unit at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont in Montreal, Dr. Sapieha has made seminal contributions to the understanding of ophthalmologic diseases. His pioneering work in the biology of eye diseases has been widely recognized, and he is the recipient of the Alcon Research Institute Senior Investigator Award and the Cogan Award in Vision Research. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and McGill University, obtained a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in pathology and cellular biology at University of Montreal, and a B.Sc. in biochemistry at McGill University.
“I’m excited to join UNITY as we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift that could have wide implications across diseases of aging,” said Dr. Sapieha. “By targeting fundamental biologies of aging we have an opportunity to develop truly transformative treatments for ophthalmologic and neurologic diseases. I am looking forward to joining Anirvan and the UNITY team to contribute to the realization of that vision”.
UNITY also announced that Jason Damiano, Ph.D., had been promoted to the role of vice president of translational biology, and Nathan Guz, Ph.D., had been promoted to the role of vice president of operations. “Jason and Nate have been exceptional contributors to the development of our capabilities and advancement of our pipeline,” said Dr. Ghosh. “I am pleased to welcome Mike, Jason, and Nate to our leadership team as we drive UNITY forward.”
About UNITY
UNITY is developing a new class of therapeutics to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging. UNITY’s current focus is on creating medicines to selectively eliminate or modulate senescent cells and thereby provide transformative benefit in age-related ophthalmologic and neurologic diseases. More information is available at www.unitybiotechnology.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including statements related to UNITY’s understanding of cellular senescence and the role it plays in diseases of aging, the potential for UNITY to develop therapeutics to slow, halt or reverse diseases of aging, including for ophthalmologic and neurologic diseases, the potential for UNITY to successfully commence and complete clinical studies of UBX1325 for diabetic macular edema and other ophthalmologic diseases, the expected timing of initial results of the Phase 1 study of UBX1325 in diabetic macular edema, and UNITY’s expectations regarding the sufficiency of its cash runway. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including the risk that the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic may continue to negatively impact the development of preclinical and clinical drug candidates, including delaying or disrupting the enrollment of patients in clinical trials. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this release. 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 have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release. 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 the business of the Company in general, see UNITY’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2020, as well as other documents that may be filed by UNITY from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.