SOUTH
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 16,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NASDAQ: TTNP) ("Titan" or the "Company") today announced that it
has expanded its Board of Directors (the "Board") from five (5) to
eleven (11) and appointed six new directors following their
election at its special meeting of stockholders held on
August 15, 2022 (the "Special
Meeting"). The new directors, which were on a nominee slate
proposed by Activist Investing LLC (together with its affiliates,
"Activist Investing"), are Avraham
Ben-Tzvi, Peter L. Chasey,
Eric Greenberg, David E. Lazar, Matthew
C. McMurdo and David
Natan.
In addition, following the Special Meeting, Mr. Lazar was
appointed interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, with a
mandate to lead Titan's continuing review of strategic
alternatives. Mr. Lazar succeeds Marc
Rubin, M.D., who will no longer serve as Executive Chairman,
but will remain on the Board.
"As one of the largest investors in Titan, Activist Investing's
goal is to help the Company unlock value for both ourselves and our
fellow shareholders through a strategic transaction," commented Mr.
Lazar. "I believe the reconstituted Board, which collectively
possess decades of experience in pharmaceutical executive
leadership, clinical research, strategic turnarounds, deal
structuring, corporate governance, investment management,
accounting, finance and corporate law, will be a tremendous asset
in this endeavor."
Biographies of Newly Elected Directors
- Avraham Ben-Tzvi is the
Founder of ABZ Law Office, a boutique Israeli law firm specializing
in outsourced general counsel services for publicly traded as well
as private companies and corporations, Investments & Securities
Laws, Commercial Law & Contracts and various civil law matters,
which he established in January 2017.
Mr. Ben-Tzvi served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of
Purple Biotech Ltd. (formerly Kitov Pharma Ltd.), a clinical-stage
company advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune
evasion and drug resistance, from November
2015 until April 2020. Prior
to that, Mr. Ben-Tzvi served as General Counsel and secretary at
Medigus Ltd., a minimally invasive endosurgical tools medical
device and miniaturized imaging equipment company, from
April 2014 until November 2015. Mr. Ben-Tzvi is a member of the
Israel Bar Association, and is also licensed as a Notary by the
Israeli Ministry of Justice. Prior to that he served as an attorney
at one of Israel's leading
international law firms where, amongst other corporate and
commercial work, he advised companies and underwriters on various
offerings by Israeli companies listing in US and on various SEC
related filings. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Ben-Tzvi worked in
a number of business development, corporate finance and banking
roles at companies in the financial services, lithium battery
manufacturing and software development industries. Mr. Ben-Tzvi
holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in Economics from Yeshiva University in New York and an LLB, magna
cum laude with Honors, in from Sha'arei Mishpat College of Law in
Hod HaSharon, Israel.
- Peter L. Chasey serves as
the Owner of Chasey Law Offices, a law practice specializing in
personal litigation, business litigation and commercial law, since
founding the practice in 2005. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chasey
served as staff counsel for one of the largest insurance companies
in the world defending general claims against insured businesses
and also served as a land surveyor. Mr. Chasey holds a B.S. in
Political Science and Government from the University of San Diego and a J.D. from the
University of San Diego School of
Law.
- Eric Greenberg has over
40 years of capital markets experience. As a trader and portfolio
manager at hedge funds, his areas of expertise included the
development of trading strategies, portfolio management and deal
structuring. Mr. Greenberg was Co-Founder of Blink Charging Co., a
leader in the EV charging infrastructure industry. In addition, Mr.
Greenberg provides investor relation and digital marketing services
for companies across a variety of industries, such as life
sciences, fintech, internet platforms and others. Mr. Greenberg
holds a B.B.A in Finance from Baruch
College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Baruch College Zicklin School of Business.
- David E. Lazar has served
as the Chief Executive Officer of Custodian Ventures LLC, a company
which specializes in assisting distressed public companies through
custodianship, since February 2018,
and Activist Investing LLC, an actively managed investment fund,
since March 2018. Previously, Mr.
Lazar served as Managing Partner at Zenith Partners International
Inc., a boutique consulting firm, from July
2012 to April 2018. In his
role as Chief Executive Officer of Custodian Ventures LLC, Mr.
Lazar has successfully served as a custodian to numerous public
companies across a wide range of industries. Mr. Lazar currently
serves as an Advisor to PROMAX Investments LLC, a position he has
held since July 2022, and as an
Ambassador at Large for the Arab African Council for Integration
and Development, since March
2022.
- Matthew C. McMurdo
currently serves as Managing Member of McMurdo Law Group, LLC, a
corporate and securities law practice, since 2010. Previously, Mr.
McMurdo was a Partner at Nannarone & McMurdo, LLP, a boutique
law firm, from 2008 to 2010. In addition, Mr. McMurdo served as
General Counsel of Berkley Asset Management LLC, the general
partner of a real estate fund focused on opportunistic and
distressed real estate assets, from 2011 to 2013. Mr. McMurdo holds
a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh
University and a J.D., cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
- David Natan currently
serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Natan &
Associates, LLC, a consulting firm offering chief financial officer
services to public and private companies in a variety of
industries, since 2007. In addition, Mr. Natan currently serves as
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Airborne
Motorworks, Inc., a privately-held aerospace transportation
company, since April 2020. From
February 2010 to May 2020, Mr. Natan served as Chief Executive
Officer of ForceField Energy, Inc., a company focused on the solar
industry and LED lighting products. From February 2002 to November
2007, Mr. Natan served as Executive Vice President of
Reporting and Chief Financial Officer of PharmaNet Development
Group, Inc., a drug development services company, and, from
June 1995 to February 2002, as Chief Financial Officer and
Vice President of Global Technovations, Inc., a manufacturer and
marketer of oil analysis instruments and speakers and speaker
components. Prior to that, Mr. Natan served in various roles of
increasing responsibility with Deloitte & Touche LLP, a global
consulting firm. Mr. Natan currently serves as a member of the
Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Global
Diversified Marketing Group, Inc., a manufacturer, marketer and
distributor of food and snack products, since February 2021 and serves as a member of the Board
of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Sunshine
Biopharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical and nutritional supplement
company, since February 2022.
Previously, Mr. Natan served as Chairman of the Board of Directors
of ForceField Energy, Inc., from April
2015 to May 2020, and as a
member of the Board of Directors of Global Technovations, Inc.,
from December 1999 to December 2001. Mr. Natan holds a B.A. in
Economics from Boston University.
About Titan Pharmaceuticals
Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTNP), based in South San Francisco, CA, is a development
stage company developing proprietary therapeutics with its
ProNeura® long-term, continuous drug delivery
technology. The ProNeura technology has the potential to be used in
developing products for treating a number of chronic conditions,
where maintaining consistent, around-the-clock blood levels of
medication may benefit the patient and improve medical outcomes. In
December 2021, Titan commenced a
process to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives to enhance
shareholder value.
For more information about Titan, please visit
www.titanpharm.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements
include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our
product development programs and any other statements that are not
historical facts. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties
that could negatively affect our business, operating results,
financial condition and stock price. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from management's current
expectations include those risks and uncertainties relating to our
ability to raise capital, the regulatory approval process, the
development, testing, production and marketing of our drug
candidates, patent and intellectual property matters and strategic
agreements and relationships. We expressly disclaim any obligation
or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as
required by law.
CONTACT:
David E. Lazar
David@activistinvestingllc.com
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SOURCE Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.