– Dr. Kroeger's Combined Business and Medical
Experience Ideally Suited to Drive Company’s OvaTure and
OvaPrime-Focused Strategy –
– Company Restructures Organization to Align
with R&D Efforts and Extend Cash Runway into Q1 2020, Enabling
Key 2019 Milestones –
OvaScience℠, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVAS), a global fertility company
focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new
treatment options, today announced the appointment of Christopher
Kroeger, M.D., M.B.A., as Chief Executive Officer, effective
September 1, 2017. Dr. Kroeger has extensive experience leading,
building and advising development-stage therapeutic and medical
device companies, and he brings a strong clinical and research
background as a practicing physician and scientist. Upon Dr.
Kroeger’s transition to OvaScience, Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D.,
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of OvaScience plans to step down
as Executive Chairman and will serve as an advisor to the Company.
Richard Aldrich, Co-Founder of OvaScience and Partner of Longwood
Fund, who has been on the Board of Directors since 2011, will
continue to serve as lead independent director.
“I am excited to join OvaScience at this pivotal time and to
work with the team to advance the Company’s ongoing research and
development efforts as we move forward with our OvaTure program and
OvaPrime clinical trial,” said Dr. Kroeger, CEO-Elect of
OvaScience. “I believe egg precursor cell-based treatments are a
truly transformative approach to infertility for women and couples
hoping to build biological families of their own, and I look
forward to leading the team at OvaScience as we work to bring these
treatments to patients.”
“Our long-term vision is to build OvaScience into a world-class
fertility company. Dr. Kroeger‘s research and development
experience, combined with his clinical expertise, make him the
ideal candidate to lead OvaScience,” said Richard Aldrich,
Co-Founder of OvaScience and Partner of Longwood Fund. “Equally
impressive, Dr. Kroger’s business acumen has created meaningful
value for shareholders of several biotechnology and therapeutics
companies. I am confident his leadership and vision will be
instrumental as we continue to advance our pipeline.”
Company Reiterates Focus on OvaTure and OvaPrime Research and
Development
OvaScience is focused on advancing its two potentially
transformative fertility treatments, OvaTure℠, in preclinical
development and OvaPrime℠, in clinical development. Today,
OvaScience announced that it will discontinue ongoing efforts
related to the AUGMENT℠ treatment outside of North America. The
Company is committed to minimizing the impact of this change on
women and families in affected areas. OvaScience will continue to
pursue business development opportunities for the treatment.
In conjunction with this decision, OvaScience will restructure
its organization to better align with these strategic priorities,
including reducing its workforce by approximately 50 percent. These
changes will enable the Company to extend its cash position into
the first quarter of 2020, which it expects will allow it to
achieve key 2019 milestones for OvaTure and OvaPrime,
including:
- complete embryo transfers in the
OvaPrime clinical trial by the end of the first quarter of
2019;
- initial readout of six months of
post-EggPC cell reintroduction safety data for all patients in the
OvaPrime clinical trial by the end of the first quarter of
2019;
- all potential births in the OvaPrime
clinical trial by the end of 2019;
- initial readout of embryo transfers of
all patients in the OvaPrime clinical trial by the end of
2019;
- bovine live birth from EggPC
cell-derived egg in the OvaTure program by the end of the first
quarter of 2019;
- six-month post-bovine live birth
follow-up in the OvaTure program by the end of the third quarter of
2019; and
- submission of human OvaTure for
regulatory approval (clinical studies) by the end of the second
quarter of 2019.
“In December, we announced a revised corporate strategy to focus
on the development of OvaTure and OvaPrime, and initiated a
comprehensive search for a new CEO. Though difficult, the
restructuring announced today, coupled with our decision to suspend
efforts related to AUGMENT outside of North America, represents
continued focus and execution toward this strategy,” said Michelle
Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of OvaScience.
“With Dr. Kroeger’s appointment, OvaScience will focus on advancing
OvaTure and OvaPrime through key milestones and exploring
partnership opportunities for AUGMENT, with the resources to
operate from a position of financial strength.”
Additional Leadership Transitions
Following the restructuring and the reduction in scope of the
operations of the Company, Christophe Couturier, the Company’s
Chief Financial Officer, is stepping down and will pursue other
opportunities. Jonathan Gillis, Vice President of Finance, who has
been with OvaScience for more than four years, will assume Mr.
Couturier’s responsibilities.
Updated Financial Guidance
As a result of the restructuring announced today, OvaScience
expects its operating cash burn for 2017 to be lower than
previously indicated and that the Company will have sufficient
funds, without additional financing, to support its revised
operating plan into the first quarter of 2020.
Dr. Kroeger Brings Deep Experience and Expertise from 20
Years in Life Sciences and Medical Industries
Dr. Kroeger joins OvaScience from Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., where he served as CEO. At Cardioxyl, Dr. Kroeger oversaw the
preclinical and clinical development of a pipeline for acute and
chronic heart failure, including CXL-1427, a potential treatment
for acute decompensated heart failure. He also successfully
negotiated Cardioxyl’s sale to Bristol Myers Squibb for $2.1
billion in total consideration. Prior to his position at Cardioxyl,
he led investing efforts as a Partner at The Aurora Funds, a
venture capital firm focused on biotechnology and medical device
companies. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Genzyme and
Decision Resources.
Dr. Kroeger earned his B.A. from Harvard University, his M.D.
from Stanford University School of Medicine and did his Residency
in General Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an
affiliate of Harvard Medical School. He also holds his M.B.A. from
Harvard Business School. Dr. Kroeger currently serves on the Board
of Directors of CardioFocus, Inc. and Cantex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
He has served as a director on the boards of five Aurora Funds
portfolio companies and has worked with and advised 15
biotechnology and medical device companies during his career.
About OvaScienceOvaScience, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVAS) is a
global fertility company dedicated to improving treatment options
for women around the world. OvaScience is discovering, developing
and commercializing new fertility treatments because it believes
women deserve more options. Each OvaScience treatment is based on
the Company’s proprietary technology platform that leverages the
breakthrough discovery of egg precursor (EggPC℠) cells – immature
egg cells found inside the protective ovarian lining. OvaScience is
developing OvaTure℠, a potential next-generation in vitro
fertilization (IVF) treatment that could help a woman produce
healthy, young, fertilizable eggs without hormone injections and
OvaPrime℠, which could increase a woman’s egg reserve. OvaScience’s
AUGMENT℠ treatment is a fertility option designed to improve IVF
success rates. OvaScience treatments are not available in the U.S.
For more information, visit www.ovascience.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes
forward-looking statements about the Company’s plans for the
OvaPrime treatment, OvaTure treatment and AUGMENT treatment,
including statements relating to the Company’s (i) belief that the
corporate restructuring will extend its cash runway into the first
quarter of 2020 and enable the achievement of key 2019 milestones,
(ii) expectation that operating cash burn for 2017 will be lower
than previously indicated, (iii) 2019 milestones, (iv) planned
management transitions, and (v) plans to focus on OvaTure and
OvaPrime, discontinue efforts relating to AUGMENT outside of North
America and explore partnership opportunities for AUGMENT. Actual
results may differ materially from those indicated by these
forward-looking statements as a result of various important
factors, including risks related to: the science underlying our
treatments (including the OvaPrime, OvaTure and AUGMENT
treatments), which is unproven; our ability to obtain regulatory
approval or licenses where necessary for our treatments; our
ability to develop our treatments on the timelines we expect, if at
all; our ability to commercialize our treatments, on the timelines
we expect, if at all; operational risks; risks associated with
pursuing partnership opportunities with third parties; as well as
those risks more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of
our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and/or Annual
Report on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements contained in
this press release reflect our current views with respect to future
events. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will
cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update
these forward-looking statements in the future, we specifically
disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing our view as of any date
subsequent to the date hereof.
###
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170621006217/en/
Media and Investor Contact:OvaScience,
Inc.Jennifer Viera, 617-420-8748jviera@ovascience.com
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