Aeterna Zentaris Appoints Michael Teifel, Ph.D. as Senior Vice President, Non-Clinical Development and Chief Scientific Offic...
May 03 2021 - 8:05AM
Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) (TSX: AEZS) (“Aeterna” or the
“Company”), a specialty biopharmaceutical company commercializing a
diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products,
today announced the appointment of Michael Teifel, Ph.D. as Senior
Vice President, Non-Clinical Development and Chief Scientific
Officer.Dr. Teifel is a leading industry executive with a career
spanning over 20 years in various therapeutic areas, including
endocrinology and oncology. He has deep experience in translating
research into clinical development. Over the course of his career,
he has gained particular expertise in the design and implementation
of non-clinical development programs for small molecule drugs,
peptides, targeted therapies, and biologics, as well as in the
continued non-clinical evaluation of drug candidates for global
registration.
“We are very pleased to welcome back Dr. Teifel
to Aeterna Zentaris,” commented Dr. Klaus Paulini, Chief Executive
Officer of Aeterna. “He has vast knowledge and expertise, including
having played an integral role for the Company previously in the
development and registration of macimorelin, which is now the first
and only U.S. FDA and European Commission approved oral test
indicated for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency. We
believe he is a valuable asset to the team as we look to advance
our diversified pipeline of pharmaceutical and diagnostic
products.” Dr. Teifel joins Aeterna Zentaris having held various
positions in industry with increasing responsibilities in
pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology and translational
sciences. He began his career in industry at Roche Diagnostics in
the area of delivery systems / non-viral gene therapy. In 1999, Dr.
Teifel joined the biotech start-up, Munich Biotech in Martinsried,
Germany as a co-founder. As head of pharmacology & toxicology,
he was responsible for the evaluation and non-clinical development
of a novel vascular targeting technology for the development of
anti-tumor diagnostics and therapeutics. In 2004, Dr. Teifel
started his first term at Aeterna Zentaris where he held several
positions in the field of preclinical development and translational
research. In his capacity he was, among others, responsible for
preparation of the non-clinical dossier for registration of
macimorelin in the U.S. and EU in the indication AGHD. In 2019, Dr.
Teifel left Aeterna Zentaris to pursue his career in non-clinical
research and development at Cleara Biotech in Utrecht, The
Netherlands. As head of translational sciences at Cleara Biotech,
he was responsible for translating research on anti-senescent drugs
into pre-clinical development in age-related diseases and
late-stage cancer.
Dr. Teifel holds a degree in biology and his
Ph.D. from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.
About Aeterna Zentaris Inc.
Aeterna Zentaris is a specialty
biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing a
diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products
focused on areas of significant unmet medical need. The Company’s
lead product, macimorelin, is the first and only U.S. FDA and
European Commission approved oral test indicated for the diagnosis
of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). The Company is
leveraging the clinical success and compelling safety profile of
macimorelin to develop it for the diagnosis of childhood-onset
growth hormone deficiency (CGHD) in collaboration with Novo
Nordisk.Aeterna Zentaris is dedicated to the development of
therapeutic assets and has recently taken steps to establish a
growing pipeline to address unmet medical needs across a number of
indications, including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder
(NMOSD), primary hypoparathyroidism and neurodegenerative disease.
Additionally, the Company is developing an oral prophylactic
bacterial vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes
COVID-19.
For more information, please visit
www.zentaris.com and connect with the Company on Twitter, LinkedIn
and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that may
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S.
and Canadian securities legislation and regulations and such
statements are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provision of the
U.S. Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such
as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “potential,”
“possible,” and similar expressions. Such statements, based as they
are on current expectations of management, inherently involve
numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions, known and unknown,
many of which are beyond our control. Forward-looking statements in
this press release include, but are not limited to, those relating
to: Aeterna’s expectation with respect to Study P02 (including the
ability to commence in the second quarter of 2021, to enroll
subjects in the USA or elsewhere in Study P02, and expectations
that Study P02 are suitable to support a claim (regulatory
approval) for potential stand-alone testing with macimorelin);
Aeterna’s expectation that, upon receipt of pricing and
reimbursement approvals, macimorelin will be marketed in Europe and
the United Kingdom; the aims and details of the pre-clinical and
potential clinical studies involving the potential use of
macimorelin to treat an undisclosed neurodegenerative disease being
conducted by Queensland University; the potential of the
coronavirus vaccine platform technology licensed from
Julius-Maximilians-University (and any vaccine candidates using
that technology) to be effective as a vaccine against COVID-19
(SARS-CoV-2) or any other coronavirus disease or to offer an
alternative to other approved vaccines against COVID-19; the
ability to obtain approval to commence any clinical trial or the
timeline to develop any potential vaccine and the characteristics
of any potential vaccine; plans regarding the DC-PTH fusion
polypeptides licensed from the University of Sheffield, plans
regarding AIM Biologicals in-licensed from
Julius-Maximilians-University and the potential to treat NMOSD; and
Aeterna’s intentions with respect to growth opportunities and its
business focus, including with respect to its cash position and
development pipeline (including the ability to accelerate its
development pipeline).
Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, and other factors which may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
information. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others,
our reliance on the success of the pediatric clinical trial in the
European Union and U.S. for Macrilen™ (macimorelin); the
commencement of Study P02 may be delayed or we may not obtain
regulatory approval to initiate that study, we may be unable to
enroll the expected number of subjects in Study P02 and the result
of Study P02 may not support receipt of regulatory approval in
CGHD, we may be delayed or unsuccessful in obtaining pricing and
reimbursement approvals in Europe and the UK to market macimorelin;
the coronavirus vaccine platform technology (and any vaccine
candidates using that technology) licensed from
Julius-Maximilians-University has never been tested in humans and
so further pre-clinical or clinical studies of that technology and
any vaccine developed using that technology may not be effective as
a vaccine against COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) or any other coronavirus
disease; that the timeline to develop a vaccine may be longer than
expected; that such technology or vaccines may not be capable of
being used orally, may not have the same characteristics as
vaccines previously approved using the Salmonella Typhi Ty21a
carrier strain; results from ongoing or planned pre-clinical
studies of macimorelin by Queensland University or for our other
products under development may not be successful or may not support
advancing the product to human clinical trials; our ability to
raise capital and obtain financing to continue our currently
planned operations; our now heavy dependence on the success of
Macrilen™ (macimorelin) and related out-licensing arrangements and
the continued availability of funds and resources to successfully
commercialize the product, including our heavy reliance on the
success of the License Agreement with Novo Nordisk; the global
instability due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, and its unknown
potential effect on our planned operations; our ability to enter
into out-licensing, development, manufacturing, marketing and
distribution agreements with other pharmaceutical companies and
keep such agreements in effect. Investors should consult our
quarterly and annual filings with the Canadian and U.S. securities
commissions for additional information on risks and uncertainties,
including those risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 40-F
and annual information form, under the caption "Risk Factors".
Given the uncertainties and risk factors, readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We
disclaim any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly
announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments,
unless required to do so by a governmental authority or applicable
law.
No securities regulatory authority has either
approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The
Toronto Stock Exchange accepts no responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this release.
Investor Contact:
Jenene ThomasJTC TeamT (US): +1 (833) 475-8247E:
aezs@jtcir.com
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