ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Synthetic
Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: SYN), a diversified
clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop
therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal (GI)
diseases in areas of high unmet need, today announced the
appointment of senior biotech executive John Monahan, PhD, to the Company's Board of
Directors, effective immediately. Dr. Monahan replaces Scott L. Tarriff who has stepped down after
serving on the board since 2012.
Dr. Monahan has more than 45 years of executive leadership
experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Dr.
Monahan Co-Founded Avigen Inc. in 1992, a company which has become
a leader in its sector for the development of novel pharmaceutical
products for the treatment of serious human diseases. Over a 12
year period as Chief Executive Officer of Avigen he raised over
$235 million in several private and
public financings including its initial public offering. From
1989-1992, he was Vice President of Research & Development at
Somatix Therapy Corp., Alameda, CA
and from 1985-1989 he was Director of Molecular & Cell Biology
at Triton Biosciences Inc., Alameda,
CA. Prior to that from 1982-1985, he was Research Group
Chief, Department of Molecular Genetics, Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc.,
Nutley, NJ, and from 1975 to 1977
he was an Instructor at Baylor College of
Medicine, Houston TX. Dr.
Monahan served as a scientific advisory consultant to the Company
from 2015 to November 2020 and from
2010 through 2015 he was the Company's Senior Executive Vice
President of Research & Development. Dr. Monahan was also a
Scientific Advisory Board member of Agilis Biotherapeutics
(recently merged into PTC Therapeutics), from 2014 to 2019. He
currently serves on the board of directors of Heat Biologics, Inc.,
Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (formerly ITUS Corporation), and Cellix
Ltd. (Ireland). He has also served
on a number of other public and private boards over the years. Dr.
Monahan received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from McMaster University, Canada and his B.Sc. from University College
Dublin, Ireland.
"John is a talented and accomplished executive with an
impressive track record of scientific achievement and drug
development," said Steven A.
Shallcross, Chief Executive and Financial Officer. "John's
considerable expertise as a leader and as a scientist extends from
research and development to regulatory and commercial strategy. He
will be invaluable to Synthetic Biologics as we continue to advance
our clinical programs, and we intend to leverage his deep industry
relationships as we explore strategic opportunities to further
expand our pipeline. We look forward to John's contributions as a
Director during this important time for our company. I would also
like to express my gratitude to Scott
Tarriff for his years of service and valuable insights he
brought to our Company. We wish him much success in his
endeavors."
"I am honored to join the board of Synthetic Biologics at this
important inflection in the Company's development," commented
John Monahan, Ph.D.
"Specifically, I believe there is significant potential for
both SYN-004 and SYN-020, as both of these therapies have the
potential to address large and underserved markets. Moreover, the
Company has an impressive team with deep sector expertise that can
be easily leveraged by licensing or acquiring new assets."
About Synthetic Biologics, Inc.
Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: SYN) is a diversified
clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop
therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal (GI)
diseases in areas of high unmet need. The Company's lead candidates
are: (1) SYN-004 (ribaxamase) which is designed to degrade certain
commonly used intravenous (IV) beta-lactam antibiotics within the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract to prevent (a) microbiome damage, (b)
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), (c)
overgrowth of pathogenic organisms, (d) the emergence of
antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (e) acute
graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell
transplant (HCT) recipients, and (2) SYN-020, a recombinant oral
formulation of the enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP)
produced under cGMP conditions and intended to treat both local GI
and systemic diseases. For more information, please visit Synthetic
Biologics' website at www.syntheticbiologics.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In
some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by
terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue,"
"expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," and similar expressions, and include statements
regarding the expected contributions of Dr. Monahan and leveraging
Dr. Monahan's deep industry relationships as Synthetic
Biologics explores strategic opportunities to further expand its
pipeline and continuing to advance Synthetic Biologics'
clinical programs. These forward-looking statements are based on
management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this
press release and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could
cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations
and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations
include, among others, the contributions of Dr. Monahan to
Synthetic Biologics, Synthetic Biologics' ability to leverage Dr.
Monahan's industry relationships to further expand its pipeline,
ability to obtain FDA clearance of the IND for the SYN-020 program,
a failure of additional pre-clinical studies of SYN-020 to achieve
similar results to those previously achieved or to provide support
for exercise of the option, the ability to enter into a license to
advance an expanded clinical development program for SYN-020, a
failure to receive the necessary regulatory approvals for
commercialization of Synthetic Biologics' therapeutics, a failure
of Synthetic Biologics' clinical trials, and those conducted by
investigators, for SYN-004 and SYN-010 to be commenced or completed
on time or to achieve desired results and benefits, especially in
light of COVID-19, a failure of Synthetic Biologics' clinical
trials to continue enrollment as expected or receive anticipated
funding, a failure of Synthetic Biologics to successfully develop,
market or sell its products, Synthetic Biologics' inability to
maintain its material licensing agreements, or a failure by
Synthetic Biologics or its strategic partners to successfully
commercialize products and other factors described in Synthetic
Biologics' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2019 and its other
filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on
Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided
only as of the date of this release, and Synthetic Biologics
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements
contained in this release on account of new information, future
events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Synthetic Biologics, Inc.