Vaxart Names Biotech Veteran Ray Stapleton Chief Technology Officer
August 31 2022 - 8:30AM
Vaxart, Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT) announced today that it has named
Ray Stapleton, Ph.D., as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO),
effective immediately. Dr. Stapleton joins Vaxart from Genocea,
where he served as CTO and Executive Vice President, working to
develop next generation personalized immunotherapies in the forms
of vaccines and cell therapies.
“Manufacturing is an important part of vaccine
development, and we are excited to have a CTO with Ray’s depth and
breadth of professional experience join our executive team,” said
Andrei Floroiu, Vaxart’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe
Ray will help us deliver on our vision of developing next
generation oral pill vaccines that hold the promise of transforming
how we’re fighting infectious diseases globally.”
“Vaxart’s pill vaccines have the potential to
revolutionize how the world gets vaccinated and I’m excited to be a
part of the team working to advance Vaxart’s manufacturing and key
pipeline programs,” Dr. Stapleton said. “I’ve spent my career
working on cutting edge science and nothing is more rewarding than
the opportunity to improve human health on a large scale.”
Dr. Stapleton joined Genocea in January 2021,
bringing more than 20 years of industry experience to the company,
having led technical, quality and manufacturing operations at
commercial and clinical stage biopharmaceutical companies.
Before that, he served as President and Chief
Operating Officer of American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), as
well as a member of the Board of Directors of both ATCC and ATCC
Global. Prior to ATCC, Dr. Stapleton worked in senior manufacturing
and technical operations roles at Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. and
Synthetic Biologics, Inc. after spending 15 years in positions of
increasing responsibility in Merck and Company’s manufacturing
organization.
At Merck, Dr. Stapleton led a complex science,
technology, and engineering organization at a manufacturing site
responsible for supporting Merck’s $5 billion annual revenue
vaccine business.
Dr. Stapleton earned a bachelor’s degree in
Biology from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia
and received his PhD in Microbial Ecology from the University of
Tennessee, Knoxville. He has served as peer reviewer for a half
dozen scientific journals, co-authored 17 peer-reviewed
manuscripts, and holds multiple patents.
About Vaxart Vaxart is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a range of oral
recombinant vaccines based on its proprietary delivery
platform. Vaxart vaccines are designed to be administered
using tablets that can be stored and shipped without refrigeration
and eliminate the risk of needle-stick
injury. Vaxart believes that its proprietary tablet
vaccine delivery platform is suitable to deliver recombinant
vaccines, positioning the company to develop oral versions of
currently marketed vaccines and to design recombinant vaccines for
new indications. Vaxart’s development programs currently include
tablet vaccines designed to protect against coronavirus, norovirus,
seasonal influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well
as a therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), Vaxart’s
first immune-oncology indication. Vaxart has filed broad
domestic and international patent applications covering its
proprietary technology and creations for oral vaccination using
adenovirus and TLR3 agonists.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking
statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in
this press release regarding Vaxart's strategy,
prospects, plans and objectives, results from preclinical and
clinical trials, commercialization agreements and licenses, and
beliefs and expectations of management are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by
such words as "should," "believe," "could," "potential," "will,"
"expected," "anticipate," "plan," and other words and terms of
similar meaning. Examples of such statements include, but are not
limited to, statements relating to relating
to Vaxart's ability to develop and commercialize its
product candidates, including its vaccine booster products;
Vaxart’s expectations regarding clinical results and trial
data; and Vaxart's expectations with respect to the
effectiveness of its product candidates. Vaxart may not
actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions, or meet the
expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking
statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ
materially from the plans, intentions, expectations, and
projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various
important factors could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements
that Vaxart makes.
Please also refer to the risks described in the
"Risk Factors" sections of Vaxart's Quarterly and Annual
Reports filed with the SEC. Vaxart does not assume
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as
required by law.
Contacts
Vaxart Media
Relations: |
Investor
Relations: |
Mark Herr |
Andrew Blazier |
Vaxart, Inc. |
FINN Partners |
mherr@vaxart.com |
IR@vaxart.com |
(203) 517-8957 |
(646)
871-8486 |
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