Experienced Executive Brings Approximately 40
Years of Pharmaceutical, Clinical Development and Operational
Experience
BOSTON, Jan. 18,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (Nasdaq: NRBO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company
focused on therapies for cardiometabolic diseases, today announced
that it has appointed Joseph Hooker
as Interim Chief Executive Officer and President.
Mr. Hooker's appointment follows Gil
Price, M.D.'s decision to retire from his position as
President and Chief Executive Officer of NeuroBo. NeuroBo's Board
of Directors plans to initiate a candidate search with the
assistance of a leading executive search firm to identify Dr.
Price's permanent successor.
"We are at an important stage in the evolution of NeuroBo, so we
are pleased to have Joe serve as our President and CEO on an
interim basis as we conduct a search for our next CEO,"
said Andrew I. Koven, Chairman of the NeuroBo Board of
Directors. "Joe's experience and demonstrated leadership are an
ideal fit for NeuroBo as we move our newly acquired
assets, DA-1241 and DA-1726, into the next stages of clinical
development and address the other strategies instrumental to
NeuroBo's success. We expect to benefit from Joe's combination of
clinical, business development and executive expertise, and his
diverse experience working with a number of emerging and large
biopharmaceutical companies."
"On behalf of the NeuroBo Board of Directors, I also want to
thank Gil for his contributions to NeuroBo during a transformative
time in NeuroBo's trajectory, in which we completed the acquisition
of rights to DA-1241 and DA-1726, and solidified our financial
position by completing a successful $32.3
million financing in November of 2022. Under Joe's
leadership, we are highly confident in the NeuroBo team's ability
to continue advancing our mission and achieving our long-term goals
while executing on NeuroBo's strategic priorities," Mr. Koven
concluded.
Joseph Hooker, Interim CEO and
President, stated, "Looking ahead, it is an exciting time for
NeuroBo as we continue to advance DA-1241 and DA-1726 through their
next stages of clinical development. The acquisition of these two
cardiometabolic assets marks a seismic shift for NeuroBo, providing
NeuroBo with a highly promising, diversified pipeline with several
upcoming value inflection points particularly in the exciting
nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity space -- areas with
enormous market opportunity, and I look forward to collaborating
with the Board and NeuroBo's partner, Dong-A ST Co. Ltd., on
development of these newly acquired assets. We have an opportunity
to make NeuroBo into a leader in development of treatments for
NASH, along with obesity and type 2 diabetes, and our focus is to
file the Phase 2a IND for DA-1241 NASH indication and preparation
for IND filing of DA-1726 an obesity indication."
"Over the past year, we have developed a clear vision and laid a
strong foundation for the future of NeuroBo. I wish to extend my
sincere gratitude to my team, our BOD, and our stockholders for
their unwavering support during this exciting time," said Dr.
Price.
About Joseph Hooker:
Mr. Hooker has served as an independent consultant and advised
on an ad hoc basis for leading management consultancies and various
pharmaceutical companies with respect to clinical trials, CROs and
program management. Previously, Mr. Hooker was Sr. Director of
Clinical Operations/Program Leader Rare Disease, Oncology for X4
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led a cross-functional global
program team, pre-clinical through development and
commercialization, including strategic planning, oversight,
execution of clinical operations and the management of staff. Mr.
Hooker earlier served as Director, Program Leadership at Biogen,
where he led programs and clinical development for gene therapy,
ALS, ophthalmology, rare orphan disease, and CNS. Mr. Hooker also
previously served as Senior Director, Clinical Operations at
Pierian Bioscience, where he developed and led clinical operations
for an oncology device program, and served as Chief Operating
Officer of MedAvante-ProPhase and Head, Clinical Operations for
Sandoz Biopharmaceuticals, division of Novartis. Mr. Hooker began
his pharmaceutical career as Senior Clinical Trial Manager and
project leader at DuPont-Merck Pharmaceuticals, and also served at
various times in clinical trial management roles at Shire
Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles and Novo
Nordisk. Mr. Hooker received a BA from Rutgers
University and an MBA from Rider
University.
About NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals
NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology
company focused on therapies for cardiometabolic diseases. Its
primary therapeutics programs include DA-1241 and DA-1726.
DA-1241 is a novel G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 119 (GPR119) agonist,
which promotes the release of key gut peptides GLP-1, GIP and PYY,
which, in turn, play an important role in glucose metabolism, lipid
metabolism and weight loss. DA-1726 is a novel oxyntomodulin
(OXM) analogue functioning as a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor
(GLP1R) and glucagon receptor (GCGR) dual agonist. OXM is a
naturally-occurring, 37-amino acid peptide hormone that is released
from the gut after ingestion of a meal, activating both the GLP-1
and glucagon receptors, prompting reduced food intake as well as an
increase in energy expenditure, potentially resulting in superior
body weight loss compared to selective GLP-1 receptor agonists.
For more information
visit: https://www.neurobopharma.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release that are not statements of
historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. These statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding the development of NeuroBo's product
candidates and the therapeutic potential, timing and nature of
clinical trials and potential regulatory approval of NeuroBo's
clinical programs and pipeline. Forward-looking statements are
usually identified by the use of words, such as "believes,"
"anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "may," "potential,"
"will," "could" and similar expressions. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements as a
result of various important factors and risks. Many factors could
cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this release, including, without
limitation, those risks associated with NeuroBo's ability to
execute on its commercial strategy, the success of NeuroBo's new
interim CEO and President, the advancement of NeuroBo's drug
development pipeline, in particular through clinical development,
NeuroBo's expectations regarding hiring a new Chief Executive
Officer, NeuroBo's ability to follow the timeline for regulatory
submissions and obtain regulatory approvals with respect to the
development and commercialization of NeuroBo's current and future
product candidates, the ability to realize the benefits of the
license agreement with Dong-A, including the impact on future
financial and operating results of NeuroBo; the ability to
integrate the new product candidates into NeuroBo's business in a
timely and cost-efficient manner; the cooperation of NeuroBo's
contract manufacturers, clinical study partners and others involved
in the development of NeuroBo's current and future product
candidates; costs related to the license agreement, known and
unknown, including costs of any litigation or regulatory actions
relating to the license agreement; changes in applicable laws or
regulations; effects of changes to NeuroBo's stock price on the
terms of the license agreement and any future fundraising; and
other risks and uncertainties described in NeuroBo's filings with
the SEC; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section
of NeuroBo's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on March 31,
2022 and NeuroBo's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2022. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent
NeuroBo's views as of the date hereof. NeuroBo anticipates that
subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change.
However, while NeuroBo may elect to update these forward-looking
statements at some point in the future, NeuroBo specifically
disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing NeuroBo's views as of any
date subsequent to the date hereof.
Contacts
Investors & Media:
Rx Communications Group
Michael Miller
+1-917-633-6086
mmiller@rxir.com
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neurobo-pharmaceuticals-appoints-joseph-hooker-as-interim-chief-executive-officer-and-president-301724385.html
SOURCE NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.