Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (“Ziopharm” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:
ZIOP), today announced the appointment of Kevin S. Boyle, Sr. as
its new Chief Executive Officer, effective today. As previously
planned, Heidi Hagen, Interim CEO, is returning to her position as
a member of the Board of Directors (the “Board”). Mr. Boyle has
also been named to the Board. In addition, today the Company has
announced promotions within its senior leadership.
Mr. Boyle has over 20 years of experience in
leading businesses in competitive and transformative situations and
has a strong track record of delivering shareholder value. He is
also an accomplished capital markets professional with strong
banking relationships cultivated by raising over $2.0 billion in
equity and debt capital over his career. Most recently, Mr. Boyle
was CEO of Kuur Therapeutics (formerly known as Cell Medica Ltd.),
leading the company through a successful transformation,
culminating in a $185 million acquisition in May 2021 by Athenex, a
global biopharma company focusing on the development and
commercialization of cancer therapies.
The appointment of Mr. Boyle and the elevation
of roles and responsibilities for select executives continue the
Board’s actions to solidify the senior leadership team, move the
Company forward and execute on its distinctive cell therapy
platform and potentially groundbreaking cancer therapies.
“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, we
welcome Kevin to the Company,” said James Huang, Executive
Chairman. “During the robust search process, the Board was pleased
to interview a number of very strong candidates. The Board was
deliberative, and considered candidates from big pharma to small
biotechs, and Kevin rose to the top of the list during the process.
Kevin brings tremendous business experience with his operational
expertise, strong financial acumen, and an ability to drive
disciplined capital allocation. He has a strong track record of
successfully guiding companies, both in and out of the biotech
sector, through critical periods in their growth trajectories. In
particular, his work at Kuur demonstrated his operational expertise
in effectively managing a business with capital constraints and
demanding timelines. We have the right science and scientific team
to deliver, and we are confident that we now have the right person
to successfully lead the Company forward towards clinical and
business success.”
Mr. Huang continued, “We also sincerely thank
Heidi for her commitment to the Company and the outstanding job she
has done over the past six months. We look forward to her continued
contributions as a dedicated and valued Board member.”
Mr. Boyle said, “I am excited to join the
Ziopharm team and am impressed by the extraordinary opportunity
that lies ahead. Heidi, the management team and the Board have laid
the foundation for Ziopharm to succeed based on its best-in-class
science. I understand the challenges ahead and I look forward to
working diligently with our dedicated and talented team to unlock
our incredible potential as an innovative, world-class oncology
company. My priorities will be to deliver shareholder value and to
ensure the success of the organization by driving the TCR-T program
forward, while seeking and executing validating partnerships across
our entire portfolio of scientific assets.”
The Board’s selection of Mr. Boyle was
unanimous. The CEO search committee was comprised of Robert Postma,
Heidi Hagen and Mary Thistle, with support and guidance from the
entire Board.
About Kevin S. Boyle, Sr.
During Mr. Boyle’s tenure as CEO of Kuur
Therapeutics, he successfully led the company through a $185
million acquisition of Kuur by Athenex. After the acquisition, he
supported the integration of Kuur’s CAR-NKT cell platform into
Athenex’s Cell Therapy Division. Mr. Boyle joined Kuur Therapeutics
in 2018 as CFO, playing a lead role in corporate strategy and
financial planning as the company progressed with a pipeline of
cell therapy products in both the US and Europe. He successfully
led fundraising efforts while executing a restructuring of the
company and he was promoted to CEO by the Kuur Board as an
endorsement of his leadership abilities during this time.
Kevin previously served as CFO of multiple
companies including FloWorks International, Sigma3, RecoverCare,
and SPT. He was also previously an officer at two public companies,
American Commercial Lines and Seabulk International. He started his
career in investment banking.
Mr. Boyle received a law degree from the
University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science degree in
Industrial Management & Economics from Carnegie Mellon
University. Houston is home to Mr. Boyle and his family. He was
recently honored by the Houston Business Journal with the 2021 Most
Admired CEO Award.
Executive Team Promotions
The Company also announced today that it has
promoted Dr. Raffaele Baffa MD, Ph.D., to Head of Research and
Development, adding to his role as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Baffa
joined the Company in November 2020 and has been instrumental in
refocusing the Company’s development pipeline. In his expanded
role, in addition to directing the development and implementation
of Ziopharm’s clinical strategy and plans, Dr. Baffa will oversee
and direct research and preclinical development activities in
alignment with Ziopharm's strategy for the development of
innovative cell therapies. As the Head of Research and Development,
he will also be responsible for ensuring the quality of science and
expansion of its therapeutic application.
Ziopharm also announced the promotion of Dr.
Adam Levy Ph.D., MBA to Executive Vice President, Corporate
Development and Investor Relations. Dr. Levy joined Ziopharm in
November 2020 as Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and
Corporate Communications. Previously, Dr. Levy held the position of
Executive Director and Head, Corporate Strategy and Investor
Relations for Gilead Sciences. Prior to Gilead, Dr. Levy served in
corporate strategy roles at Alexion and Bristol Myers Squibb. In
his newly expanded role, Dr. Levy will lead the Company’s corporate
development strategy, including executing licensing and business
development deals across the Company’s portfolio, which is an
increasingly critical priority for the Company. Dr. Levy will
continue to direct investor-related activities and
communications.
Mr. Huang added, “It is with great pleasure we
announce the promotions of Raffaele and Adam. They each bring
tremendous experience and we have benefitted from their
contributions since they joined the company in 2020. We look
forward to their continued efforts in their expanded roles.”
Conference Call and Webcast
Ziopharm will host a conference call and webcast
for the investment community today, August 30, 2021, at 4:30 p.m.
EDT. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 877-451-6152
(U.S. and Canada) or 201-389-0879 (International). The passcode for
the conference call is 13722687. A live webcast may be accessed
using the link here, or by visiting the “Investors” section of the
Ziopharm website at www.ziopharm.com. The call will be recorded and
available for replay on the Company’s website for approximately 90
days after the call.
About Ziopharm Oncology,
Inc.Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven
cell and gene therapies that weaponize the body’s immune system to
treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with cancer each
year. With its multiplatform approach, Ziopharm is at the forefront
of immuno-oncology. Ziopharm’s pipeline is built for commercially
scalable, cost-effective T-cell receptor (TCR) T-cell therapies
based on its non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer platform and a
Sleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company
has clinical and strategic collaborations with the National Cancer
Institute and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
For more information, please visit www.ziopharm.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking
statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements
that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified
by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans,"
"anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are
not limited to, statements regarding the Company's business and
strategic plans, the execution of potential future partnerships or
transactions, and the timing of the Company's research and
development programs, including the anticipated dates for enrolling
patients in the Company’s TCR-T clinical trial. Although Ziopharm’s
management team believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned
that forward-looking information and statements are subject to
various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to
predict and generally beyond the control of Ziopharm, that could
cause actual results and developments to differ materially from
those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking
information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
among other things, changes in the Company’s operating plans that
may impact its cash expenditures, the uncertainties inherent in
research and development, future clinical data and analysis,
including whether any of Ziopharm’s product candidates will advance
further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process,
including receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies to
conduct clinical trials and whether and when, if at all, they will
receive final approval from the U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign
regulatory agencies and for which indication; the strength and
enforceability of Ziopharm’s intellectual property rights;
competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
as well as risk factors discussed or identified in the public
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by
Ziopharm, including those risks and uncertainties listed in the
most recent Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filed by Ziopharm with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. We are providing this
information as of the date of this press release, and Ziopharm does
not undertake any obligation to update or revise the information
contained in this press release whether as a result of new
information, future events or any other reason.
Investor Relations:Adam D. Levy, Ph.D.,
MBAExecutive Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor
Relations(508) 552-9255alevy@ziopharm.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a39b9adf-b220-4ba7-bd87-a46089ab994f
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