Akari Therapeutics Announces Appointment of David Horn Solomon as CEO
August 21 2017 - 7:05AM
Akari Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKTX) is pleased to announce that Dr
David Horn Solomon will be appointed as the company’s new chief
executive officer (CEO), effective August 28, 2017.
“I am very pleased that David will be joining Akari and that we
have been successful in attracting a person of his calibre, with
over 20 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology
industry,” said Ray Prudo, M.D., Executive Chairman of Akari.
“David has a strong track record of leading Phase 2-stage companies
like Akari. most notably, at Zealand Pharma where he led the
development of lixisenatide, which is now commercialized by
Sanofi.”
Akari is focused on the development and commercialization of
treatments for a range of rare and orphan autoimmune and
inflammatory diseases caused by the dysregulation of complement C5
and/or leukotriene B4 (LTB4).
“I am excited by Akari’s growing and diversified discovery
platform and its clinical programs in the complement mediated
diseases, PNH (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria) and aHUS
(atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome),” said Solomon. “I believe
Akari’s lead compound, Coversin, with its dual binding sites also
has potential in a wide range of other diseases where both the
complement and leukotriene pathways are implicated including atopic
keratoconjunctivitis in the eye and bullous pemphigoid in the
skin”.
“Akari is building momentum in its research programs and this is
a hugely exciting time to join and help advance its products,”
added Solomon who will be based at Akari’s corporate headquarters
in New York City.
About David Horn Solomon
Dr David Horn Solomon was the CEO of Zealand Pharma A/S
(NASDAQ:ZEAL) from 2008 to 2015. Under David’s leadership the
company went public on NASDAQ OMX in Copenhagen and its lead
product, Adlixin®, a GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of
type II diabetes, was approved in the US and globally and is now
marketed by Sanofi as a monotherapy and in combination with Lantus
as Soliqua®. David was also the CEO of Bionor Pharma ASA
(OSL:BIONOR) and until his appointment at Akari was the Managing
Partner of Sund Capital, a Nordic healthcare investment fund. Dr
Solomon studied at Weil Cornell Medicine of Cornell University and
its Graduate School of Medical Science where he received his
Ph.D.
About Akari Therapeutics Plc
Akari is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development
and commercialization of innovative therapeutics to treat orphan
autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, in particular those where the
complement system or leukotrienes or both complement and
leukotrienes together play a primary role in disease progression.
Akari’s lead drug candidate Coversin is a C5 complement inhibitor
currently being evaluated in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
(PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). In addition to
its C5 inhibitory activity, Coversin independently and specifically
inhibits leukotriene B4 (LTB4) activity. Akari intends to evaluate
Coversin in two conditions, the skin and eye diseases bullous
pemphigoid and atopic keratoconjunctivitis, where the dual action
of Coversin on both C5 and LTB4 may be beneficial. Akari is also
developing other tick derived proteins, including long acting
versions.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions,
expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the
information currently available to us and on assumptions we have
made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations,
strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance
that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be
attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements
and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are
beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties for our company
include, but are not limited to: needs for additional capital to
fund our operations, an inability or delay in obtaining required
regulatory approvals for Coversin and any other product candidates,
which may result in unexpected cost expenditures; risks inherent in
drug development in general; uncertainties in obtaining successful
clinical results for Coversin and any other product candidates and
unexpected costs that may result therefrom; failure to realize any
value of Coversin and any other product candidates developed and
being developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties
involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market;
inability to develop new product candidates and support existing
product candidates; the approval by the FDA and EMA and any other
similar foreign regulatory authorities of other competing or
superior products brought to market; risks resulting from
unforeseen side effects; risk that the market for Coversin may not
be as large as expected; inability to obtain, maintain and enforce
patents and other intellectual property rights or the unexpected
costs associated with such enforcement or litigation; inability to
obtain and maintain commercial manufacturing arrangements with
third party manufacturers or establish commercial scale
manufacturing capabilities; the inability to timely source adequate
supply of our active pharmaceutical ingredients from third party
manufacturers on whom the company depends; our inability to obtain
additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; unexpected cost
increases and pricing pressures; uncertainties of cash flows and
inability to meet working capital needs; and risks and other risk
factors detailed in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed
on March 31, 2017. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release and we
undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements
to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press
release. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
For more information
Investor Contact:
The Trout Group
Tricia Truehart
ttruehart@troutgroup.com
+1 646 378 2953
Media Contact:
Mary-Jane Elliott / Sukaina Virji
Consilium Strategic Communications
+44 (0)20 3709 5700
Akari@consilium-comms.com
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