CymaBay Announces the Retirement of President and Chief Executive Officer, Harold Van Wart, Ph.D.
March 29 2017 - 8:00AM
CymaBay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAY), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for specialty and
orphan diseases with high unmet medical need, today announced that
Harold Van Wart, Ph.D., will retire as President and Chief
Executive Officer. The Board of Directors has promoted Sujal Shah,
to interim President and Chief Executive Officer. During this
transition Robert Wills, Ph.D., will assume the role of Executive
Chairman to provide additional continuity and support to the
Company.
“It has been my privilege to work with such an
excellent team of pharmaceutical experts for nearly 15 years.
During this time our team has developed a pipeline of novel drug
candidates aimed at improving patient care for diseases with high
unmet medical need,” said Dr. Van Wart. “We brought in a partner to
help us continue the development of arhalofenate, a novel treatment
for gout, into Phase 3, and now have concentrated our efforts on
seladelpar as a promising new treatment for primary biliary
cholangitis. I am proud of the dedication and passion that
our team has displayed and will look forward to following the
Company as it transitions into this next phase of development.”
Dr. Wills, Chairman of the Board, said, “Hal’s
leadership at CymaBay over the past four years has been integral in
advancing our clinical pipeline. We thank Hal for all of his
contributions and wish him well.” Dr. Wills added, “Sujal has the
full confidence and support of the Board in this new role and we
look forward to the addition of his broad experiences and
background on the execution of our strategic and operational
initiatives.”
“We remain focused on completing the Phase 2
development program for seladelpar in PBC this year where we expect
key interim data from our ongoing study in the third quarter,” said
Sujal Shah. “Seladelpar is a potent and selective agonist of the
nuclear receptor PPARδ that we believe has the potential to
significantly advance the treatment of multiple liver diseases
including PBC and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. In
addition, our recently signed partnership with Kowa Pharmaceuticals
America enables the advancement of arhalofenate into Phase 3
studies for patients with gout and allows us to focus now on
signing similar deals for rights to this program outside the U.S. I
am excited to have the opportunity to lead an exceptional team here
at CymaBay and believe that 2017 can be a transformational year for
the Company.”
About Sujal Shah Sujal Shah
joined CymaBay as Chief Financial Officer in December of 2013.
Prior to that he served as a consultant and acting Chief Financial
Officer since June 2012. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Shah served as
Director, Health Care Investment Banking Group for Citigroup, where
he was responsible for managing client relationships and executing
strategic and financing related transactions for clients focused in
life sciences. From 2004 to 2010 Mr. Shah was employed with
Credit-Suisse, last serving in the capacity as Vice President,
Health Care Investment Banking Group. Mr. Shah received a MBA from
Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business and B.S. and
M.S. degrees in biomedical engineering from Northwestern
University.
About CymaBay CymaBay
Therapeutics, Inc. (CBAY) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing therapies to treat metabolic diseases
with high unmet medical need, including serious rare and orphan
disorders. Seladelpar is a potent, selective, orally active PPARδ
agonist. A Phase 2 study of seladelpar in patients with mixed
dyslipidemia established that it has an anti-atherogenic lipid
profile. CymaBay has completed Phase 2 studies for seladelpar in
subjects with primary biliary cholangitis and homozygous familial
hypercholesterolemia, establishing proof-of-concept in both
indications. Arhalofenate, CymaBay’s other product candidate, is a
potential Urate-Lowering Anti-Flare Therapy that has completed five
Phase 2 studies in subjects with gout. Arhalofenate has been found
to reduce painful flares in joints while at the same time lowering
serum uric acid by promoting excretion of uric acid by the kidney.
This dual action addresses both the signs and symptoms of gout
while managing the underlying pathophysiology of
hyperuricemia. Arhalofenate has been licensed in the U.S. to
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. CymaBay retains full
development and commercialization rights for arhalofenate outside
the U.S.
Cautionary Statements The
statements in this press release, including those statements
regarding the belief that the company has the potential to create
significant value as it continues to advance its clinical pipeline,
the belief that the company is well positioned for success and that
2017 can be a transformational year for the company, and the
potential of CymaBay’s product candidates are forward looking
statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual
results and the timing of events regarding the further development
of CymaBay’s product candidates could differ materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of risks
and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related
to: the success, cost and timing of any of CymaBay's product
development activities, including clinical trials; effects observed
in trials to date which may not be repeated in the future; any
delays or inability to obtain or maintain regulatory approval of
CymaBay's product candidates in the United States or worldwide; and
the ability of CymaBay to obtain sufficient financing to complete
development, regulatory approval and commercialization of its
product candidates in the United States and worldwide. Additional
risks relating to CymaBay are contained in CymaBay's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without
limitation its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other
documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the Securities
and Exchange Commission. CymaBay disclaims any obligation to update
these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
For additional information about CymaBay visit
www.cymabay.com.
Contacts:
Sujal Shah
CymaBay Therapeutics, Inc.
(510) 293-8800
sshah@cymabay.com
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