Dicerna Strengthens Board of Directors with Two New Appointments

Industry Veterans J. Kevin Buchi and Cynthia Smith Add Key Industry and Commercial Operations Expertise

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRNA), a leading developer of investigational ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) therapeutics, today announced the appointments of J. Kevin Buchi, former chief executive officer of Cephalon, Inc., and TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corp., and Cynthia Smith, former chief commercial officer of ZS Pharma, Inc., to its board of directors. The appointments are effective immediately and increase the size of Dicerna’s board to 10 members.

“Kevin and Cynthia are two highly regarded industry veterans and their appointments to our board of directors is reflective of our growth, as we continue to advance our GalXC™-based pipeline, including our lead program, DCR-PHXC for the treatment of all forms of primary hyperoxaluria,” said Douglas M. Fambrough, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Dicerna. “Kevin is an accomplished executive and director who brings with him extensive industry experience. As such, he will provide valuable insights regarding our operations, strategy, and corporate governance. Cynthia possesses significant expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry most notably in building and leading commercial operations across multiple therapeutic categories, a key area of future growth for Dicerna. We are delighted to welcome them both and look forward to leveraging their knowledge as we move toward achieving our planned milestones.”

Most recently Mr. Buchi served as president and chief executive officer of TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals. Before TetraLogic, he served as corporate vice president of Global Branded Products at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited from 2011 to May 2012. Mr. Buchi was chief executive officer of Cephalon, Inc., which was acquired by Teva in October 2011. Mr. Buchi joined Cephalon in 1991 and, during his tenure, held various leadership positions, including chief financial officer and chief operating officer, before becoming Cephalon's chief executive officer in December 2010. In addition, Mr. Buchi currently serves as a director of Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Benitec Biopharma Ltd. Mr. Buchi has previously served on the boards of several pharmaceutical companies, including EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Forward Pharma A/S.

Ms. Smith has more than 20 years of broad leadership experience within the healthcare industry. Most recently she has served as chief commercial officer and a member of the executive team of ZS Pharma, acquired by AstraZeneca in 2015 for approximately $2.7 billion, where she led efforts to transition the company from the development stage to a commercial enterprise. Prior to joining ZS Pharma, Ms. Smith served as vice president, market access and commercial development at Affymax, Inc. Earlier, she held various senior leadership positions in market access, corporate strategy, government relations, and external affairs at Merck & Co. Before beginning her career in the biopharmaceutical industry, Ms. Smith served as a healthcare policy analyst in the White House Office of Management and Budget. She previously served on the board of Nivalis Therapeutics.

About Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative, subcutaneously delivered RNAi-based therapeutics for the treatment of diseases involving the liver, including rare diseases, viral infectious diseases, chronic liver diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Dicerna is leveraging its proprietary GalXC™ RNAi technology platform to build a broad pipeline in these core therapeutic areas, focusing on target genes where connections between target gene and diseases are well understood and documented. Dicerna intends to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapeutics either on its own or in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners. For more information, please visit www.dicerna.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Applicable risks and uncertainties include risks relating to Dicerna’s clinical and preclinical research and other risks identified under the heading "Risk Factors" included in the Company’s most recent Form 10-Q filing and in other future filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Dicerna's current views with respect to future events, and Dicerna does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180816005699/en/

Investors:Rx Communications GroupPaula Schwartz, 917-322-2216pschwartz@rxir.comorMedia:SmithSolveAlex Van Rees, 973-442-1555 ext. 111alex.vanrees@smithsolve.com

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DRNA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024