ProKidney Corp. (Nasdaq: PROK) (“ProKidney” or the “Company”), a
leading clinical-stage cellular therapeutics company focused on
therapies for chronic kidney disease (“CKD”), today announced the
appointments of John M. Maraganore, Ph.D. and Jennifer Fox to its
Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome John and Jen to the
ProKidney Board. They each have a wealth of experience that we
believe will be invaluable to the Company as we enter a crucial
time in its evolution,” said Pablo Legorreta, ProKidney Chairman.
“As the founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and with
experience over three decades at numerous global biopharmas, I am
confident that John will be a tremendous resource for the Board and
our world-class leadership team as we continue advancing REACT™
through its Phase 3 studies with the aim of making it available to
chronic kidney disease patients throughout the world. Moreover, as
we recently completed our business combination with Social Capital
Suvretta Holdings Corp III, I am confident that Jen’s financial and
capital markets expertise gained over 25-plus years as an
investment banker will serve us well throughout our life as a
publicly traded company.”
Dr. Maraganore is the owner of JMM Consulting,
LLC and is a venture partner at ARCH Venture Partners, a venture
advisor at Atlas Venture, an executive advisor at RTW Investments
and a senior advisor at Blackstone Life Sciences, each of which are
investment funds. Previously, Dr. Maraganore served as the founding
chief executive officer and as a director of Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Alnylam”) (Nasdaq: ALNY), a publicly traded
biopharmaceutical company. Prior to founding Alnylam, Dr.
Maraganore served in a number of leadership roles including as
senior vice president, strategic product development with
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company (now
Takeda Oncology) (“Millennium”). Before Millennium, he served as
director of molecular biology and director of market and business
development at Biogen, and as a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc., a
biotechnology company, and The Upjohn Company, a pharmaceutical
company. Dr. Maraganore holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in
Biological Sciences also from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Maraganore currently serves on the board of
directors of publicly traded biotechnology companies Agios
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGIO), Beam Therapeutics Inc.
(Nasdaq: BEAM), Kymera Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: KYMR), and
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LTD (NYSE: TAK) and as a director of
several privately-held companies. Dr. Maraganore also serves as a
strategic advisor to a number of biotechnology companies. He is the
former Chair and current member of the Executive Committee of the
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), where he serves as
Chair Emeritus.
“ProKidney is a company with tremendous
potential and I am honored to join its talented Board of
Directors,” added Dr. Maraganore. “With REACT™, we have an
opportunity to meaningfully improve the lives of patients suffering
the debilitating effects of CKD. I look forward to working closely
with Pablo and the rest of the Board as we continue to execute our
mission of driving a delay in the onset of dialysis.”
Ms. Fox currently serves as Chief Financial
Officer of Nuvation Bio (Nasdaq: NUVB), an oncology-focused
biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Nuvation Bio in 2020,
she spent more than 25 years in healthcare investment banking,
where she advised on billions of dollars of financial and strategic
transactions. She joined Nuvation Bio from CitiGroup, where she
served as a managing director and co-head of the Healthcare
Corporate and Investment Banking Group. Prior to CitiGroup, Ms. Fox
held senior positions in investment banking at Deutsche Bank, Bear
Stearns, Bank of America and Prudential Securities. She holds B.S.
degrees in finance and marketing from Manhattan College.
“ProKidney is uniquely positioned for success
with REACT™, which is in Phase 3 development as a potentially
disease-modifying treatment for CKD,” added Ms. Fox. “I am excited
to partner with management and the Board to help ensure ProKidney’s
long-term success as a public Company, as we continue to advance
the development of REACT™ with the goal of bringing it to the
millions suffering from CKD worldwide.”
With the appointment of Dr. Maraganore and Ms.
Fox, ProKidney’s Board of Directors has expanded to nine members.
Collectively, these individuals have decades of experience in the
life sciences industry and financial markets. They bring the
Company significant expertise in scientific, research and
development, regulatory, commercial, management and financial
disciplines at both emerging and established organizations.
- Pablo Legorreta – Chairman; Founder and Chief
Executive Officer of Royalty Pharma plc
- Tim Bertram,
Ph.D.; Chief Executive Officer of ProKidney
- William F.
Doyle; Executive Chairman of NovoCure Limited
- Jennifer Fox;
Chief Financial Officer of Nuvation Bio and veteran investment
banking professional
- Alan M.
Lotvin, M.D.; Executive Vice President of CVS
Health Corp
- John M.
Maraganore, Ph.D.; Venture Partner at ARCH Venture
Partners, venture advisor at Atlas Venture, Executive Advisor at
RTW Investments and Senior Advisor at Blackstone Life Sciences
- Brian J.G.
Pereira M.D.; Chief Executive Officer of Visterra Inc, a
subsidiary of Otsuka America Inc.; Nationally recognized expert on
kidney disease and nephrology
- Uma Sinha,
Ph.D.; Chief Scientific Officer of
BridgeBio
- José Ignacio Jiménez
Santos; Chief Executive Officer of Afore Inbursa and Chief
Investment Officer of Grupo Financiero Inbursa, SAB de C.V.
About ProKidney
ProKidney, a pioneer in the treatment of CKD
through innovations in cellular therapy, was founded in 2015 after
a decade of research. ProKidney’s lead product candidate, REACT™
(Renal Autologous Cell Therapy), is a first-of-its-kind, patented,
autologous cellular therapy with the potential to not only slow and
stabilize the progression of CKD, but in some cases possibly drive
meaningful improvement in kidney function. Late-stage CKD, Stage 3b
- 4, is a key target for REACT™ therapy. REACT™ has received
Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation, as well
as FDA and EMA guidance, supporting its ongoing Phase 3 clinical
program, which launched in January 2022. For more information,
visit www.prokidney.com.
About CKD
There are no therapies that effectively reverse
late-stage CKD. CKD is a serious diagnosis with significant
morbidity and mortality, notable for the 5-year mortality of a new
diagnosis of CKD Stage 4 being higher than that of a new
non-metastatic cancer diagnosis. CKD most often presents as a
progressive decline in kidney function ultimately resulting in the
failure of the kidneys and the need for renal replacement therapy,
such as hemodialysis, or kidney transplant. One in three Americans
is at risk for CKD, which currently affects approximately 75
million people in the United States and Europe and over 400 million
across Asia. CKD is among the largest single expenses incurred by
the US Health care system.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ProKidney’s
actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates and
projections and consequently, you should not rely on these
forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words
such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,”
“believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar
expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions)
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the
Company’s expectations with respect to financial results, future
performance, development and commercialization of products, if
approved, the potential benefits and impact of the Company’s
products, if approved, potential regulatory approvals, and the size
and potential growth of current or future markets for the Company’s
products, if approved. Most of these factors are outside of the
Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may
cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the
inability to maintain the listing of the Company’s Class A ordinary
shares on the Nasdaq; the inability to implement business plans,
forecasts, and other expectations or identify and realize
additional opportunities, which may be affected by, among other
things, competition and the ability of the Company to grow and
manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; the risk of
downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly
competitive biotechnology industry; the inability of the Company to
raise financing in the future; the inability of the Company to
obtain and maintain regulatory clearance or approval for its
products, and any related restrictions and limitations of any
cleared or approved product; the inability of the Company to
identify, in-license or acquire additional technology; the
inability of Company to compete with other companies currently
marketing or engaged in the biologics market and in the area of
treatment of kidney diseases; the size and growth potential of the
markets for the Company’s products, if approved, and its ability to
serve those markets, either alone or in partnership with others;
the Company’s estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital
requirements and needs for additional financing; the Company’s
financial performance; the Company’s intellectual property rights;
uncertainties inherent in cell therapy research and development,
including the actual time it takes to initiate and complete
clinical studies and the timing and content of decisions made by
regulatory authorities; the impact of COVID-19 or geo-political
conflict such as the war in Ukraine on the combined company’s
business; and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to
time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company cautions readers that the foregoing list of
factors is not exclusive and cautions readers not to place undue
reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change
in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contact:
Investors: Lee Roth Burns McClellan
lroth@burnsmc.com +1 (212) 300-8331
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