KLY Kalytera Therapeutics Inc

Claritas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Kalytera Therapeutics, Inc.) (TSX VENTURE: KLY and OTC: KALTF) (the "Company" or "Claritas") today announced the addition of Perenlei Enkhbaatar, MD, PhD, FAHA as an independent member of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”), effective immediately.

Dr. Enkhbaatar is an internationally renowned authority and leader on the biology and pathophysiology of nitric oxide and acute lung injury, and his appointment to the Board of Directors will further strengthen the Company position as a leader in the field of nitric oxide therapeutics.

Nitric oxide was named molecule of the year by Science magazine in 1992; over 130,000 peer reviewed articles have been published on the nitric oxide; and nitric oxide was the subject of a 1998 Nobel Prize in medicine.

“The addition of Dr. Enkhbaatar to the Company’s Board enhances and strengthens our focus on nitric oxide pharmaceuticals,” stated Robert Farrell, President and CEO. “We previously announced the addition of Dr. Salvatore Cuzzocrea to our Board. Both Dr. Enkhbaatar and Dr. Cuzzocrea are internationally renowned authorities and leaders on the biology and pathophysiology of nitric oxide. Drs. Enkhbaatar and Cuzzocrea will help guide the Company’s development of R-107, our proprietary nitric oxide-releasing compound that is being developed as a treatment for coronavirus, COVID-19, and other viral infections. Dr. Enkhbaatar will be a strong strategic resource for Claritas, and we look forward to the contributions he will make.”

Nitric oxide is part of the body’s natural defense system against viral infections. However, a viral infection can spread more rapidly than the body can produce nitric oxide to combat the infection. Claritas is developing R-107 to supplement the body’s natural production of nitric oxide. Following administration orally as a capsule, or nasally through use of a nasal spray, or by injection, R-107 releases nitric oxide systemically throughout the body.

The importance of R-107 for the treatment of, and possibly also the prevention of, COVID-19 cannot be overstated. Unlike vaccines, that may lose effectiveness as the virus mutates, nitric oxide-releasing R-107 is expected to be a universal therapy against all COVID-19 strains, including those that are vaccine-resistant.

Dr. Enkhbaatar currently serves as the Charles Robert Allen Professor and the Director of the Translational Intensive Care Unit in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Galveston Medical Branch.

Following his medical training at the University of Saint Petersburg in Russia, Dr. Enkhbaatar served as a Senior Lieutenant physician in the Mongolian Army. He went on to receive his Ph.D. at Kumamoto University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Japan. He then undertook his post-doctoral training in the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, under the mentorship of the late Professor Daniel Traber, the foremost authority over the last fifty years on the pathophysiology of acute lung injury. Upon Dr. Traber’s death, Dr. Enkhbaatar assumed the leadership of the research unit in Galveston and has further expanded its research prominence in the development of effective therapeutic approaches with special emphasis on tissue regeneration and stem cell biology.

For the past 25 years, Dr. Enkhbaatar has played a leading role in the elucidation of basic mechanisms of disease in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to pneumonia, sepsis, toxic gas inhalation, and thermal injury associated with smoke inhalation. He has been at the forefront of pioneering therapeutic approaches to counter reactive oxidative and nitrosative stress. In recognition of these advances in the medical science of acute lung injury, Dr. Enkhbaatar has been awarded numerous federal grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the Department of Defense, Shriners of North America, and the Office of Naval Research. His research advances have been presented at international conferences and in the publication of more than three hundred abstracts, one hundred and fifty-four original manuscripts in leading peer-reviewed journals, and twelve book chapters.

In recognition of his contributions to the field of cytokine storm induced acute lung injury, Dr. Enkhbaatar has been selected to serve on the Editorial Boards of leading journals in the fields of trauma and acute lung injury, including Critical Care Medicine, Shock, and Burn & Trauma, and has been invited to join numerous professional societies, including the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Burn Association, the Shock Society, the American Thoracic Society, the American Physiological Society, the American Heart Association, the Surgical Infection Society, and the Royal Society of Medicine.

Dr. Enkhbaatar brings expert knowledge of R-107 to Claritas, having carried out clinically relevant large animal studies showing its treatment benefit in experimental models of bacterial pneumonia, smoke inhalation and burn injury, and chlorine inhalational lung injury. As a world authority on the biological mechanisms of pulmonary damage in cytokine-storm induced acute lung injury, Dr. Enkhbaatar is ideally positioned to appreciate the underlying pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease and to guide potential therapeutic approaches based on the provision of nitric oxide via the clinical administration of R-107.

Professor Salvatore Cuzzocrea, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, President of the University of Messina and former President of the European Shock Society, has read and approved the scientific disclosure in this news release. Professor Cuzzocrea has deep expertise regarding the medical use of nitric oxide and nitric oxide donors, and has published more than 600 papers on nitric oxide. He has conducted research and experiments with nitric oxide and nitric oxide donors since 1994, and worked closely as an advisor with the Salzman Group team that designed and invented R-107.

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure, or contain the Covid-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time.

About Claritas PharmaceuticalsClaritas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for patients with significant unmet medical needs. Claritas focuses on areas of unmet medical need, and leverages its expertise to find solutions that will improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives.

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Cautionary StatementsNeither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation in respect of its product candidate pipeline, planned clinical trials, regulatory approval prospects, intellectual property objectives, and other statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risk that future clinical studies may not proceed as expected or may produce unfavorable results. Claritas undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Claritas believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Claritas’ control. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Claritas disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

Contact InformationRobert FarrellPresident, CEO(888) 861-2008info@claritaspharma.com