SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aridis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDS), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the discovery and development of targeted
immunotherapies using fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to
treat life-threatening bacterial infections, today announced the
appointment of Michael A. Nazak as
its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective January 1, 2020. Mr. Nazak, who joined Aridis in
November 2018, has been serving as
Vice President, Finance and replaces Fred
Kurland who has chosen to retire but will continue to
support the Company as a consultant.
"Mike has been an integral part of managing daily operations and
I'm delighted by his promotion to CFO and look forward to working
alongside him to facilitate Aridis' growth," commented Vu Truong, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of
Aridis Pharmaceuticals. "I also wish to extend gratitude to Fred,
who for the past 25 years has very effectively served numerous
public and private biotechnology companies as their CFO, including
the past 4 years at Aridis. We look forward to continuing
to leverage Fred's expertise as we advance on the corporate
and clinical development fronts."
Mr. Nazak is a seasoned financial executive with extensive
experience managing teams of finance professionals at healthcare
dedicated companies. Prior to joining Aridis, he served as Senior
Vice President, Finance at Coherus Biosciences, Inc., a publicly
listed company on Nasdaq. Previously he was the Senior Director of
Finance & Accounting at InteKrin Therapeutics Inc., a
biopharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Mr. Nazak served as
the Corporate Controller for Reliant Technologies, Inc., a
developer and manufacturer of medical laser devices, and as a
Senior Director of Finance & Corporate Controller at
Connetics Corporation, a then publicly-traded specialty
pharmaceutical company. Mr. Nazak also held Corporate
Controller and other finance and accounting positions at Cygnus
Solutions (a Red Hat company), and MIPS Computer Systems, and was
previously an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand LLP.
Mr. Nazak is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), and
holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration
in Accounting from San Jose State
University.
"I'm very excited by the opportunity to expand my role at
Aridis, and also, to be part of a company that is embarking on
disruptive therapeutic innovation in the infectious disease
treatment landscape," commented Michael
Nazak.
About Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aridis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops anti-infectives with
mechanisms of action that are different from antibiotics. The
Company is utilizing its proprietary MabIgX® technology platform to
rapidly identify rare, potent antibody-producing B-cells from
patients who have successfully overcome an infection to produce
mAbs. These mAbs are already of human origin and functionally
optimized for high potency by the donor's immune system; hence,
they do not require genetic engineering or further optimization to
achieve full functionality. MabIgX® also allows for the selection
of any antibody isotype depending on the optimal effector function
required for treating the target infection. By bypassing the
humanization and binding sequence optimization steps, and the
entire process of generation of genetically engineered antibody
producing cell lines, MabIgX® enables high gross-margins and
expedited progression to clinical development.
The Company has generated multiple clinical stage product
candidates targeting bacteria that cause life-threatening
infections such as VAP, and HAP and chronic lung infections in
cystic fibrosis. The use of mAbs as anti-infective treatments
represents an innovative therapeutic approach that harnesses the
human immune system to fight infections and is designed to overcome
the deficiencies associated with the current standard of care which
is broad spectrum antibiotics. Such deficiencies include, but are
not limited to, increasing drug resistance, short duration of
efficacy, disruption of the normal flora of the human microbiome
and lack of differentiation among current treatments. The mAb
portfolio is complemented by a non-antibiotic novel mechanism small
molecule anti-infective candidate being developed as a chronic
inhaled therapy to treat lung infections in cystic fibrosis
patients. The company's pipeline is highlighted below:
Aridis' Pipeline
AR-301 (VAP). AR-301
is a fully human immunoglobulin 1, or IgG1, mAb currently in Phase
3 clinical development targeting gram-positive S.
aureus alpha-toxin in VAP patients.
AR-501 (cystic fibrosis). AR-501 is an inhaled
formulation of gallium citrate with broad-spectrum anti-infective
activity being developed as a chronic treatment for lung infections
in cystic fibrosis patients. This program is currently in a
Phase 1/2a clinical study in healthy volunteers and CF
patients.
AR-101 (HAP). AR-101 is a fully human
immunoglobulin M, or IgM, mAb targeting P.
aeruginosa liposaccharides serotype O11, which accounts
for approximately 22% of all P.
aeruginosa hospital acquired pneumonia cases
worldwide.
AR-401 (blood stream infections). AR-401 is a
fully human mAb preclinical program aimed at treating infections
caused by gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii.
AR-201 (RSV infection). AR-201 is a fully human IgG1
mAb preclinical program aimed at neutralizing diverse clinical
isolates of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
For additional information on Aridis Pharmaceuticals, please
visit https://aridispharma.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this
press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. These statements may be
identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"forecast," "estimated" and "intend" or other similar terms or
expressions that concern Aridis' expectations, strategy, plans or
intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on Aridis'
current expectations and actual results could differ materially.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual events
to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to,
the timing of regulatory submissions, Aridis' ability to obtain and
maintain regulatory approval of its existing product candidates and
any other product candidates it may develop, approvals for clinical
trials may be delayed or withheld by regulatory agencies, risks
relating to the timing and costs of clinical trials, risks
associated with obtaining funding from third parties, management
and employee operations and execution risks, loss of key personnel,
competition, risks related to market acceptance of products,
intellectual property risks, risks associated with the uncertainty
of future financial results, Aridis' ability to attract
collaborators and partners and risks associated with Aridis'
reliance on third party organizations. While the list of
factors presented here is considered representative, no such list
should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential
risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant
additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking
statements. Actual results could differ materially from those
described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result
of various important factors, including, without limitation, market
conditions and the factors described under the caption "Risk
Factors" in Aridis' 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and Aridis' other filings
made with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Forward-looking statements included herein are
made as of the date hereof, and Aridis does not undertake any
obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent
events or circumstances.
Contact:
Investor Relations
Jason Wong
Blueprint Life Science Group
jwong@bplifescience.com
(415) 375-3340 Ext. 4
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SOURCE Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.