Biocept Names Antonino Morales as President and Chief Executive Officer
June 20 2023 - 4:15PM
Business Wire
Samuel D. Riccitelli resigns as interim
President and CEO, and Director
Biocept, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOC) (“Biocept” or the “Company”), a
leading provider of molecular diagnostic assays, products and
services, has named Antonino Morales as President and Chief
Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Morales has served as
Biocept’s interim Chief Financial Officer since February 2022 and
as a Director of the Company since July 2021. Robert Walsh, the
Company’s Controller, has been promoted to Vice President and
Controller and will serve as the Company’s principal accounting
officer. These changes follow the resignation of Samuel D.
Riccitelli as interim President and Chief Executive Officer, and
Director.
“We are delighted that Antonino has accepted the chief executive
position at Biocept following the instrumental role he played in
redirecting the business to focus exclusively on our proprietary
cerebrospinal fluid assay CNSide™. Antonino shares the Board’s
passion for advancing the clinical development of CNSide and
improving the lives of patients with advanced cancer,” said M. Faye
Wilson, Board Chair. “We are grateful to Sam for his transitional
leadership during a challenging time for our company and extend
thanks for his many contributions as a Director and while serving
as interim President and CEO.”
“Since joining the Company, I’ve been impressed by Biocept’s
mission of helping to improve the lives of patients with metastatic
cancer of the central nervous system, and it’s a privilege to take
the lead in advancing this mission,” said Mr. Morales. “I’m fully
committed to the FORESEE clinical trial and generating the data
necessary to establish CNSide as the standard of care. We intend to
build on steps already taken to right-size the Company and continue
to take measures to extend our cash runway as we advance the
FORESEE trial. I’m delighted to report that enrollment is running
ahead of our forecast.”
Mr. Morales has served as a member of Biocept’s Board since July
2021 and was a member of the Audit Committee from August 2021 until
his appointment as interim Chief Financial Officer. He has more
than 30 years of broad executive leadership experience and has
served in executive management or consulting roles with various
Fortune 100 companies, including Citibank, Bank of America, Arthur
Andersen, Mazda North America and McDonald’s. Mr. Morales has also
led multiple private equity-backed startup companies. He received a
Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Southern
California and is a licensed CPA.
About Biocept
Biocept is a molecular diagnostics company with commercialized
assays for patients with carcinomas or melanomas. Our experts have
spent years working to change the way physicians look at
cerebrospinal fluid in cancer patients. Biocept has developed a
unique, patented methodology to isolate cancer material that is
shed from the primary tumor, such as CSF tumor cells (CSF-TCs) and
cell-free DNA (cfDNA). As such, Biocept is a leading commercial
provider of testing services designed to enable clinicians to
rapidly detect and monitor cancer biomarkers from a cerebrospinal
fluid sample.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based
upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of
assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the
assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give
no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to
have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally
identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should,"
"could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend,"
or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on
these words or comparable terminology. To the extent that
statements in this release are not strictly historical, including
without limitation statements regarding generating the data
necessary from the FORESEE trial to establish CNSide as the
standard of care and our ability to extend our cash runway, such
statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to
numerous risk factors, including that the results of the FORESEE
clinical trial may not support the inclusion of CNSide in clinical
care guidelines; Medicare and private payors may not provide
coverage and reimbursement or may breach, rescind or modify their
contracts or reimbursement policies or delay payments; risks
related to our need for additional capital; and the risk that our
products and services may not perform as expected. These and other
factors are described in greater detail in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the “Risk
Factors” heading of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2023. The effects of such risks and
uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from
the forward-looking statements contained in this release. We do not
plan to update any such forward-looking statements and expressly
disclaim any duty to update the information contained in this press
release except as required by law. Readers are advised to review
our filings with the SEC, which can be accessed over the Internet
at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov.
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Investor and Media Contact: Jody Cain, LHA Investor
Relations Jcain@lhai.com, 310-691-7100
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