Assembly Biosciences Announces Changes to Senior Leadership Team
May 02 2019 - 4:05PM
Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASMB), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company developing innovative therapeutics targeting
hepatitis B virus (HBV) and diseases associated with the
microbiome, today announced the appointment of David R. Houck,
Ph.D., as Senior Vice President Product Development and Portfolio
Management, and the departure of Graham Cooper, Chief Financial
Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
“As Assembly’s pipeline of novel core inhibitors for HBV and
rationally-designed live biotherapeutics from the microbiome
platform continue to mature, we are delighted to welcome David to
the Company. His decades of experience in pharmaceutical
development will provide important insight over the coming years,”
said Derek Small, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Assembly. “With the additions of David and Steve Knox, our recently
announced Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, we
continue to strengthen our leadership team with experienced drug
developers who have the necessary skills to advance our clinical
candidates for patients.”
“I am pleased to join Assembly at this exciting time. Our HBV
portfolio of core inhibitors has a promising lead candidate in
ABI-H0731 with a clear global development path and next-generation
core inhibitors candidates that are following close behind,” said
Dr. Houck. “We also recently initiated the first clinical study
with ABI-M201 from our microbiome platform, and we look forward to
selecting additional candidates for potential future clinical
development.”
Dr. Houck has more than 35 years of experience in the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, from drug discovery
through submission of Investigational New Drug applications and New
Drug Applications for both small molecules and biologics, with
particular experience in anti-infective agents including Hepatitis
C virus and HIV. Throughout his career, Dr. Houck has been
responsible for product development, including nonclinical
development, manufacturing and quality control. Additionally, he
has had extensive interaction with various regulatory agencies,
including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European
Medicines Agency. Prior to Assembly, Dr. Houck was Chief
Development Officer at Aptinyx, and before that was Vice President
of Drug Development and Quality at Naurex. Previously, Dr. Houck
served as Chief Executive Officer at Pharmakey LLC, a provider of
regulatory, chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC),
nonclinical, and translational medicine services to
biopharmaceutical companies. Earlier in his career, he held senior
positions at Merck & Co., Sterling Winthrop, Sanofi, OSI
Pharmaceuticals, and SCYNEXIS. Dr. Houck received a B.S.
from Alma College, an M.S. from Purdue University, a
Ph.D. in chemistry from Ohio State University, and served as a
postdoctoral fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Company also announced that Graham Cooper is leaving to
pursue other interests. The Company has initiated a search for a
new Chief Financial Officer, and Michael Samar, Assembly’s Vice
President Finance and Business Operations, has been appointed to
serve as principal accounting officer and has assumed certain of
Mr. Cooper’s responsibilities.
Mr. Small stated, “On behalf of the entire organization, I would
like to thank Graham for his contributions over the past year, and
we all wish him luck in his next endeavors.”
Forward-Looking Statements The information in
this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding
future events, including statements about the clinical and
therapeutic potential of core inhibitors and the global development
path of our product candidates. Certain forward-looking statements
may be identified by reference to a future period or by use of
forward-looking terminology such as “will” and “potential.”
Assembly intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by
the safe harbor provisions contained in Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected or implied
in these forward-looking statements. More information about the
risks and uncertainties faced by Assembly are more fully detailed
under the heading “Risk Factors” in Assembly's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law,
Assembly assumes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Contacts Assembly Biosciences, Inc. Investors:
Lauren Glaser Vice President Investor Relations and Corporate
Affairs(415) 521-3828 lglaser@assemblybio.com
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