PRTC's Commense Appoints President and CEO

RNS Number : 1937K

PureTech Health PLC

09 April 2018

 

9 April 2018

PureTech Health plc

PureTech's Commense Appoints President and Chief Executive Officer

Biotechnology veteran brings strong track record of strategic business development

PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech Health"), an advanced, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today the appointment of Edward J. "Tad" Stewart as President and Chief Executive Officer of its affiliate, Commense. In this new role, Mr. Stewart will focus on advancing Commense's lead program towards the clinic, growing the Company's microbiome-based development capabilities and expanding leading business development and finance activities.

"We are pleased to have Tad join Commense and bring his experience and business development track record as we advance our pipeline of microbiome-derived therapies to address critical unmet needs in paediatric populations," said Daphne Zohar, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of PureTech Health.

Mr. Stewart joins Commense with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, combining a unique blend of partnership, licensing and business development expertise. Mr. Stewart most recently served as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Head of Commercial Business at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he oversaw and managed commercial business development efforts. Under Mr. Stewart's leadership, the company executed multiple partnership and licensing deals with a total value in excess of $1.5 billion and successfully launched ONIVYDE®, which was sold to Ipsen in a 2017 transaction valued at $1.025 billion. 

The full text of the announcement from Commense is as follows:

Commense Appoints Edward J. "Tad" Stewart as President and Chief Executive Officer

Industry veteran to lead next stage of growth for company

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, April 9, 2018 - Commense, Inc., an affiliate of PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) developing microbiome-derived immune modulators for paediatric and maternal health, today announced the appointment of Edward J. "Tad" Stewart as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Stewart will focus on advancing Commense's lead program towards the clinic, growing the Company's microbiome-based development capabilities and expanding its fundraising and business development efforts to fuel the growth of the Company.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Commense and its world-class team of researchers and collaborators," Mr. Stewart said.  "The science around the microbiome and its interaction with the immune system has grown exponentially in recent years, but the opportunity to focus on the paediatric microbiome and its ability to impact disease is just beginning to mature.  Commense has a tremendous opportunity to cement a leadership position in the field and deliver products that have the potential to alter, or even prevent, the course of many diseases at a very early age."

Mr. Stewart joins Commense with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology field, including over 15 years at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in growing the company from a pre-clinical organisation to a commercial enterprise.  Under his leadership as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Head of Merrimack's Commercial Business Unit, the company executed multiple partnership and licensing deals with a total value in excess of $1.5 billion and successfully launched ONIVYDE®, which was sold to Ipsen in a 2017 transaction valued at $1.025 billion. 

"We are excited to have Tad on board as we build and develop our arsenal of paediatric microbiome-derived therapeutics," said David Steinberg, Chief Innovation Officer at PureTech Health and Co-founder of Commense. "Tad brings extensive strategic and business development experience and has a proven track record of building value and deal-making."

About Commense

Commense, Inc., an affiliate of PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC), is developing interventions for paediatric and maternal health based on a deep understanding of the microbiome and its fundamental role as the foundation for the development of immune tolerance.  Commense is working with some of the world's leading microbiome scientists, physicians, and researchers to develop therapeutics comprised of rationally defined consortia of microbes to address critical unmet needs in paediatric populations.  These defined microbial therapies are based on a deep understanding of human-microbe interactions, the effects of microbes on the immune system, and the impact of these interactions on infant and maternal health.

About PureTech Health

PureTech Health (PRTC.L) is an advanced, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines targeting serious diseases that result from dysfunctions in the nervous, immune, and gastrointestinal systems (brain-immune-gut or the "BIG" axis), which together represent the adaptive human systems. PureTech Health is at the forefront of understanding and addressing the biological processes and crosstalk associated with the BIG axis. By harnessing this emerging field of human biology, PureTech Health is pioneering new categories of medicine with the potential to have great impact on people with serious diseases. PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline of innovative therapies that includes two pivotal stage programs, multiple human proof-of-concept studies and a number of early clinical and pre-clinical programs. PureTech's research and development pipeline has been advanced in collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific experts, who along with PureTech's team of biopharma pioneers, entrepreneurs and seasoned Board, identify, invent, and clinically de-risk new medicines. With this experienced team pursuing cutting edge science, PureTech Health is building the biopharma company of the future focused on improving and extending the lives of people with serious disease. For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter @puretechh.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to PureTech's future prospects, developments and strategies. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, neither PureTech Health nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Investors	EU media	U.S. media
Allison Mead Talbot [phone] [e-mail]	Ben Atwell, Rob Winder [phone] [e-mail]	Tom Donovan [phone] [e-mail]

 

END

 

 

NRAUWRORWSASRUR