Independent Director nominee expected to be
elected at Annual Shareholders' Meeting in March 2024
CRANFORD, N.J., Jan. 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
("Citius" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CTXR), a late-stage
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and
commercialization of first-in-class critical care products today
announced the nomination of seasoned pharmaceutical executive
Robert J. Smith to its Board of
Directors. The nomination of Mr. Smith is subject to shareholder
approval at the Citius Annual Shareholders' Meeting to be held on
March 12, 2024. Upon approval, the
Citius Board of Directors will consist of seven members.
"Throughout his distinguished career spanning more than three
decades as a key executive at leading pharmaceutical companies
including Pfizer and Wyeth, Bob has been instrumental in driving
business growth and enhancing shareholder value. He has shaped and
executed numerous successful business strategies with his deep
understanding of business development, mergers and acquisitions,
corporate and commercial strategy, and research and development. We
are privileged to have an executive of Bob's caliber join our Board
of Directors. We are confident that Bob's insights will complement
the expertise of our current Board and provide an important
perspective as we advance our pipeline, build our commercial
capabilities, and position Citius for growth," stated Leonard Mazur, Chairman and CEO of Citius.
"This is a pivotal time for Citius as it prepares to transition
from a clinical-stage company to a commercial organization. I am
excited to work with talented executives guided by improving
patient care and mindful of shareholder interests. As the Company
makes progress in its late-stage development programs, I look
forward to partnering with fellow members of the Board of Directors
alongside Citius management to evaluate the multiple value-creating
opportunities ahead," stated Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive who has
driven commercial, financial, and operational success at leading
pharmaceutical companies for more than 35 years. As Senior Vice
President, Global Gene Therapy Business for the past eight years,
Mr. Smith led Pfizer's global gene therapy business and he was also
responsible for managing and leading Pfizer's gene therapy and rare
disease early commercial development activities in partnership with
the rare disease research unit. During his tenure at Pfizer, Mr.
Smith also led Pfizer's business development and strategic
transactions teams for its worldwide research and development
organization and the business development and strategy teams for
Pfizer's global animal
health, Capsugel, consumer healthcare and nutrition business
units, as well as the alliance
management function supporting all of Pfizer's global
biopharmaceutical business units and the worldwide
research and development organization.
Mr. Smith joined Pfizer from Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals in 2009, following Pfizer's acquisition
of Wyeth, where he was responsible for leading and managing
Wyeth's global mergers and acquisitions group.
In his previous role at Wyeth as Senior Vice President of Global
Licensing, he completed a wide variety of transactions in support
of Wyeth's commercial and research
and development divisions.
Mr. Smith
serves or has served as a member of the Board of Directors of AM Pharma B.V.
(observer), Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Ignite
Immunotherapeutics Inc., Iterum Therapeutics Limited
(observer), Life Sciences PA – the Pennsylvania Biotechnology
Association, Bio NJ – the New Jersey State Biotechnology
Association, the Duke Margolis Value Based Agreements Advisory
Board, the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and the
Foundation for Cell and Gene
Medicine (FCGM). He is a member of the Executive Committees
of the ARM and FCGM Board of Directors and serves as the Chairman
of the ARM Board's Governance and Operations Committee. Mr. Smith
is also a member of the Business Advisory Board of Ocugen, Inc.,
the Investment Advisory Committee for Venture Investors LLC,
Madison, Wisconsin, and the Cell
and Gene Therapy Scientific Advisory Board of the Focused
Ultrasound Foundation based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Mr. Smith obtained a B.S. in Neuroscience from the
University of Rochester and an M.B.A. in Finance and
Corporate Accounting from the
William E. Simon Graduate
School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.
About Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Citius Pharma is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to the development and commercialization of
first-in-class critical care products. The Company's diversified
pipeline includes two late-stage product candidates. At the end of
2023, Citius completed enrollment in a Phase 3 Pivotal superiority
trial of Mino-Lok®, an antibiotic lock solution to salvage
catheters in patients with catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Citius is preparing to resubmit the Biologics License Application
for LYMPHIR™, a novel IL-2R immunotherapy for an initial indication
in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, in early 2024, and announced plans to
form Citius Oncology, a standalone publicly traded company with
LYMPHIR as its primary asset. LYMPHIR received orphan drug
designation by the FDA for the treatment of CTCL and PTCL. In
addition, Citius completed enrollment in its Phase 2b trial of CITI-002 (Halo-Lido), a topical
formulation for the relief of hemorrhoids. For more information,
please visit www.citiuspharma.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
are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future
events impacting Citius. You can identify these statements by the
fact that they use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"expect," "plan," "should," and "may" and other words and terms of
similar meaning or use of future dates. Forward-looking statements
are based on management's current expectations and are subject to
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
those currently anticipated are: our ability to attract, integrate,
and retain key personnel and Board members; the cost and timing of
the resubmission of the BLA for LYMPHIR; the FDA may not approve
LYMPHIR; risks relating to the results of research and development
activities, including those from the Mino-Lok Phase 3 trial and
other existing and new pipeline assets; our need for substantial
additional funds; our ability to commercialize our products if
approved by the FDA; our dependence on third-party suppliers; our
ability to procure cGMP commercial-scale supply; the estimated
markets for our product candidates and the acceptance thereof by
any market; the ability of our product candidates to impact the
quality of life of our target patient populations; our ability to
obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic
agreements and relationships; uncertainties relating to preclinical
and clinical testing; the early stage of products under
development; market and other conditions; risks related to our
growth strategy; patent and intellectual property matters; our
ability to identify, acquire, close and integrate product
candidates and companies successfully and on a timely basis;
government regulation; competition; as well as other risks
described in our SEC filings. These risks have been and may be
further impacted by Covid-19 and could be impacted by any future
public health risks. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements
do not constitute guarantees of future performance, and you are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. Risks regarding our business are described in detail in
our Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings which are
available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, including in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2023, filed with the SEC on
December 29, 2023, and updated by our
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof,
and 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.
Investor Relations for Citius Pharmaceuticals:
Investor Contact:
Ilanit
Allen
ir@citiuspharma.com
908-967-6677 x113
Media Contact:
STiR-communications
Greg Salsburg
Greg@STiR-communications.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/citius-pharmaceuticals-announces-nomination-of-pharmaceutical-executive-robert-j-smith-to-its-board-of-directors-302041672.html
SOURCE Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.