NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Scopus
BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: SCPS) today announced the
appointment of additional members to its Board of Directors.
Scopus is a biopharmaceutical company whose lead drug candidate is
a novel, targeted immuno-oncology gene therapy for the treatment of
multiple cancers.
Joshua R. Lamstein, Chairman of
Scopus BioPharma, stated, "We are delighted to be in a position to
attract prominent industry leaders to our Board. Our new
directors are well-recognized for their leadership and
accomplishments in the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and
pharmaceutical industries, as well as in public capital markets and
corporate governance."
The new directors are:
- Raphael ("Rafi") Hofstein, Ph.D. Dr. Hofstein is a
global leader in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology
industries. Over his career, Dr. Hofstein has been
instrumental in the founding and/or leadership of over 60
biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Most recently,
these companies include: Fibrocor Therapeutics; Encyte Therapeutics
(acquired by Zealand Pharma A/S); and Notch Therapeutics, a
biotechnology company focused on gene-edited T cell therapies,
which has a strategic partnership with Allogene Therapeutics.
Dr. Hofstein has also played key leadership roles in establishing
industry partnerships and strategic alliances with leading global
biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies,
including Amgen, Baxter, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson &
Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Takeda.
Dr. Hofstein received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and Physics from The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his
M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Life Sciences and Chemistry from the Weizmann
Institute of Science. Dr. Hofstein completed his postdoctoral
training and research in the Department of Neurobiology at
Harvard Medical School.
- Lesley Russell, MB.Ch.B, MRCP
(UK). Dr. Russell has extensive leadership experience
across diverse disciplines at numerous private and public
biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies. Such companies have ranged from venture-backed
start-ups to global leaders. Dr. Russell has managed all
aspects of the drug development and regulatory approval processes
for oncology and non-oncology drug candidates.
Dr. Russell began her career at Eli Lilly and Amgen and thereafter
joined U.S. Bioscience, a leading publicly-traded biopharmaceutical
company subsequently acquired by MedImmune, which was itself later
acquired by AstraZeneca. Dr. Russell also served as Executive
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Cephalon, a leading
Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company acquired by Teva
Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Russell has served on boards of directors and as chair and/or a
member of audit, executive, nominating and compensation committees
of many publicly-traded companies. Dr. Russell currently
serves as a director of Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Imugene, each a
publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Russell
recently joined the board of directors of Chimeric Therapeutics, a
biopharmaceutical company developing CAR T cell therapies, which is
currently pursuing an IPO and public listing on the Australian
Securities Exchange, or ASX. Dr. Russell also serves as a
director of Sojournix, a privately-held biopharmaceutical
company. Previously, Dr. Russell served as a director of
Endocyte, a Nasdaq-listed public company acquired by Novartis, and
AMAG Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Russell received her MB.Ch.B from the University of Edinburgh Faculty of Medicine. She is
a member of the Royal College of Physicians and is registered with
the General Medical Council.
- David S. Battleman,
M.D. Dr. Battleman has extensive experience across
academia; the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and medical
technology industries; and pharmaceutical and healthcare management
consulting. Dr. Battleman was an Assistant Professor at Weill
Medical College of Cornell University. Subsequently, Dr.
Battleman held a senior position at Pfizer, with responsibilities
including developing strategies for various early-stage and
established pharmaceutical products. Dr. Battleman was also a
senior principal and/or management consultant at IMS Health and
Bain & Co. Dr. Battleman is the principal and founder of
TrueNorth Lifesciences, a provider of strategic consulting and
financial advisory services relating to drug development,
acceleration, optimization and commercialization for early-stage
life sciences companies. Dr. Battleman is a director of
PAVmed.
Dr. Battleman received his B.A. in Biology from The Johns Hopkins University, his M.D. from the
Weill Medical College of Cornell
University, his MSc. from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of
Public Health and his M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania.
- David A. Buckel,
CMA. Mr. Buckel has extensive experience as a senior
executive officer, including chief financial officer and principal
accounting officer, of numerous private and Nasdaq-listed public
companies. Mr. Buckel is the President and Managing Director
of BVI Venture Services, a provider of financial, accounting and
management services to private and public companies. Mr.
Buckel has extensive knowledge of corporate governance and public
accounting, having served on the boards of directors of numerous
companies as chair and/or a member of audit, corporate governance
and nominating committees. Mr. Buckel currently serves as a
director of SharpSpring.
Mr. Buckel was responsible for managing numerous initial and
follow-on public offerings by high-profile companies. These
included a key spin-off of ARPANET, established by the Advanced
Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of
Defense, which implemented technologies which became the technical
foundation of the internet. Public offerings managed by Mr.
Buckel were underwritten by major Wall Street firms, including Bear
Stearns, Jefferies, Lehman Brothers, Oppenheimer and Robertson
Stephens.
Mr. Buckel received his B.S. in Accounting from Canisius College and his M.B.A. from the
Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman
School of Management. Mr. Buckel is a Certified Management
Accountant.
- David Weild IV. Mr.
Weild is a globally recognized leader in capital formation and
capital markets structure. Mr. Weild authored and co-authored
a number of definitive white papers that were key catalysts for new
legislation and regulatory reforms, including the JOBS Act.
Mr. Weild is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Weild
& Co., a boutique investment bank focused on enhancing capital
access for emerging growth companies.
Mr. Weild previously served as the Vice Chairman of Nasdaq and as a
member of Nasdaq's Executive Committee. For over 10 years
prior to joining Nasdaq, Mr. Weild was a senior executive of
Prudential Securities, including Head of Corporate Finance and Head
of the Global Equities Transaction Group. During his tenure,
Prudential Securities acted as an underwriter for numerous
biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including acting as
a managing underwriter for an $18.9
million public offering of common stock for Celgene, with a
post-offering market capitalization of approximately $140 million.
Mr. Weild has extensive experience as a public company director,
having served on multiple boards of directors, including as chair
and/or a member of their audit and other committees. Mr.
Weild currently is a director of PAVmed and BioSig Technologies,
both medical technology companies.
Mr. Weild received his B.A. from Wesleyan
University and M.B.A. from New York
University Stern School of Business. Mr. Weild also studied
at the Sorbonne, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC Paris)
and the Stockholm School of
Economics.
Mr. Lamstein added, "Our directors have played significant roles
in numerous private and public emerging growth companies, including
some of the most storied names in biopharmaceuticals and
biotechnology. We are excited to work closely with our
expanded leadership team, as we seek to advance groundbreaking
therapeutics and achieve our mission of improving patient outcomes
and saving lives."
The appointment of the new directors took effect in connection
with the company's recent IPO and listing on the Nasdaq Global
Market.
About Scopus BioPharma
Scopus BioPharma Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing
transformational therapeutics capitalizing on groundbreaking
scientific and medical discoveries from leading research and
academic institutions. The company's lead drug candidate is a
novel, targeted immuno-oncology gene therapy for the treatment of
multiple cancers. The company is also developing additional
new chemical entities to treat other serious diseases with
significant unmet medical needs, including systemic sclerosis.
Receive updates by following Scopus BioPharma on Twitter here.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks (including those set forth in the
company's offering circular filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission) and uncertainties which could cause actual
results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The company
expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect any change in the company's
expectations with respect thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
Investors should realize that if our underlying assumptions for the
projections contained herein prove inaccurate or that known or
unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could
vary materially from our expectations and projections.
Contact
Rodd Leeds/David Waldman
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: (212) 671-1020
Email: SCPS@crescendo-ir.com
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SOURCE Scopus BioPharma Inc.