Rubius Therapeutics Announces Process to Explore Strategic Alternatives and Leadership Changes
November 02 2022 - 4:01PM
Rubius Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RUBY), a biopharmaceutical
company that is developing an entirely new class of cellular
medicines called Red Cell Therapeutics™ for the treatment of cancer
and autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has initiated a
process to explore a range of strategic alternatives to maximize
shareholder value and plans to engage an investment bank to act as
a strategic advisor for this process. Strategic alternatives that
will be evaluated include the sale of all or part of the Company or
a merger. As a result of this process, Rubius is reducing its
workforce by 84% and will retain certain employees to execute the
process. The Company also announced the appointment of Dannielle
Appelhans as president and chief executive officer, effective
November 15, 2022. Ms. Appelhans previously served as chief
operating officer since joining Rubius in 2021. Current president
and chief executive officer, Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., was appointed
Chair of the Rubius board of directors, effective immediately, and
will continue as president and chief executive officer until
November 15, 2022.
Rubius has recently generated new non-human primate data with
the next generation cell conjugation RED PLATFORM, demonstrating
longer circulation time than observed with the first generation
platform and pronounced pharmacodynamic effects as shown by
increased levels of interferon gamma, a cytokine critical to both
innate and adaptive immunity. In parallel, the Company has advanced
a next generation Red Cell Therapeutic, RTX-250, an
antigen-specific therapy that is designed to activate dendritic
cells.
With the first generation Red Cell Therapeutics, Rubius
demonstrated that engineered red blood cells could be manufactured
at scale, safely administered and activate a patient’s immune
system, resulting in clinical benefit in certain cancer patients,
including evidence of tumor shrinkage and prolonged stable disease
in PD-(L)-1 refractory solid tumors.
Additional leadership changes include the departures of Pepe
Carmona, chief financial officer, and Maiken Keson-Brookes, chief
legal officer and corporate secretary. Additional information on
the leadership and board changes, and the Company’s plan for
strategic alternatives, can be found in Rubius’ current report on
Form 8-K being filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on or about the date hereof.
About Rubius Therapeutics
Rubius Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that is
developing an entirely new class of cellular medicines called Red
Cell Therapeutics™ for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune
diseases. Rubius is employing cell conjugation to generate
therapeutic red blood cells with two distinct modalities – potent
cell-cell interaction and tolerance induction. The Company was
named among the 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts by the
Boston Globe, and its manufacturing site was recently
named 2022 Best Places to Work in Rhode Island by
Providence Business News. For more information, visit
www.rubiustx.com, follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn or like us on
Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release
contains certain statements that constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of applicable laws and regulations
and constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of
applicable securities laws, including, without limitation,
statements regarding our plans to initiated a process to explore a
range of strategic alternatives and our plans to reduce our
operations and execute certain leadership changes. The words
“may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,”
“project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press
release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs
and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important
factors that may cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release, including, without
limitation, the possibility that no strategic alternatives or
trading market will be available to us and that our stockholders
will not realize any value in our shares, as well as those risks
identified in our filings with the Commission, including under the
heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year-ended December 31, 2021, and subsequent filings with the
Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2022, and in our upcoming Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, available on
the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. Any such risks and
uncertainties could materially and adversely affect our results of
operations and cash flows and the amount of time we can meet our
operational and capital needs. We caution you not to place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date they are made. Except as required by law, we disclaim any
obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to
reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that
may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from
those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release
represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be
relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent
date.
We caution that trading in our securities is highly
speculative and poses substantial risks. Trading prices for our
securities may bear little or no relationship to the actual value
realized, if any, by holders of our securities. Accordingly, we
urge extreme caution with respect to existing and future
investments in our securities.
Contact
Investors and MediaLori Murray, Chief Corporate
Affairs Officerlori.murray@rubiustx.com
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