RCS - PureTech Health PLC - PRTC's Seaport Announces Board/Team Appointments

Puretech HealthAnnouncement

07/05/2024 12:15

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240507:nRSG3656Na&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3656N  PureTech Health PLC  07 May 2024

7 May 2024

PureTech Health plc

 

PureTech Founded Entity Seaport Therapeutics Adds Industry Veteran to Board of
Directors and Makes Key Executive Appointments

 

Denice Torres, J.D., former Board Member of Karuna Therapeutics and
accomplished healthcare executive at Johnson & Johnson, Janssen
Neuroscience and Eli Lilly, appointed to Seaport Board of Directors

 

Eric Green, MBA, former development and commercialization leader at Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, joins Seaport as Chief Operating Officer

 

Michael Chen, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Seaport and former Head of Innovation at
PureTech Health named Seaport Chief Scientific Officer

 

PureTech Health plc (https://puretechhealth.com/) (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC)
("PureTech" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, noted
that its Founded Entity, Seaport Therapeutics (https://seaporttx.com/) , a
biopharmaceutical company that is charting a proven path in neuropsychiatry,
today announced the appointment of Denice Torres, J.D., to its Board of
Directors. In addition, Michael Chen, Ph.D., Co-founder, was named Chief
Scientific Officer, and Eric Green, MBA, was appointed Chief Operating
Officer.

 

The appointments follow the recent launch of Seaport
(https://news.puretechhealth.com/news-releases/news-release-details/puretech-launches-seaport-therapeutics-with-%24100-million-oversubscribed-series-a-and-announces-management-transitions)
, PureTech's newest Founded Entity, with a $100 million Series A financing
round. Consistent with its model, PureTech internally advanced Seaport's
neuropsychiatric medicines programs to a key inflection point, and the
pipeline - which is now being advanced by Seaport - can drive value for
PureTech through an equity stake and license consideration. This enables
PureTech to share the significant costs of later-stage development with
outside investors and direct additional resources to its innovative R&D
engine for the creation and validation of new therapeutic candidates.
Following the Series A financing, PureTech holds equity ownership in Seaport
of 61.5 percent on a diluted basis.

 

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

 

Seaport Therapeutics Adds Industry Veteran to Board of Directors and Makes Key
Executive Appointments

 

Denice Torres, J.D., former Board Member of Karuna Therapeutics and
accomplished healthcare executive at Johnson & Johnson, Janssen
Neuroscience and Eli Lilly, appointed to Seaport Board of Directors

 

Eric Green, MBA, former development and commercialization leader at Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, joins as Chief Operating Officer

 

Michael Chen, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Seaport and former Head of Innovation at
PureTech Health named Chief Scientific Officer

 

BOSTON, May 7, 2024 - Seaport Therapeutics (https://seaporttx.com/) , a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is charting a proven path in
neuropsychiatry, today announced the appointment of Denice Torres, J.D., to
its Board of Directors. In addition, Michael Chen, Ph.D., Co-founder, was
named Chief Scientific Officer, and Eric Green, MBA, was appointed Chief
Operating Officer. The appointments follow the recent launch of Seaport with a
$100 million Series A financing round to advance the development of novel
neuropsychiatric medicines.

 

"We are incredibly honored to welcome Denice to our Board of Directors. She is
an exceptional healthcare leader with a track record of successfully guiding
organizations through significant growth and transformation," said Steve Paul,
M.D., Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors at Seaport. "Denice was a
key contributor on the Karuna Board and I am delighted to have the opportunity
to work with her again as we deliver on our mission to bring first and
best-in-class medicines to those who are suffering from depression, anxiety
and other neuropsychiatric disorders."

 

Ms. Torres brings notable public and private board experience to Seaport,
including a position on the Board of Directors at Karuna Therapeutics until
its acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in March 2024. She has over 30 years
of P&L, strategy, and leadership experience in pharmaceuticals, consumer
healthcare and medical devices. Ms. Torres held several leadership positions
at Johnson & Johnson, including President of J&J Consumer
Healthcare, President of Janssen Neuroscience, and Chief Strategy Officer
for the medical device division. Before joining Johnson & Johnson, she
held senior leadership roles at Eli Lilly, including Executive Director of
Global Neuroscience and Head of Women's Healthcare. Ms. Torres has received
numerous awards, including Healthcare Businesswomen's Association Woman of the
Year, Johnson & Johnson Working Mother of the Year, and the Johnson
& Johnson Special Recognition Leadership Award for her work in diversity
and inclusion.

 

"It's an honor to join Seaport's Board of Directors and a team of world-class
innovators with an incredible track record of advancing the field of
neuropsychiatry," said Ms. Torres. "The company's Glyph™ platform, fueled by
breakthrough science, has the exciting potential to enhance the lives of
millions of people living with neuropsychiatric disorders."

 

Mr. Green steps into the role of Chief Operating Officer bringing nearly 25
years of biopharmaceutical development, commercialization and operational
experience. Most recently, Mr. Green was Senior Vice President, Head of
Development Programs at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals where he led a team
responsible for global development and pre-commercialization activities for a
portfolio of development stage programs. His initial role at Alnylam was as
Senior Vice President, Global General Manager for the TTR Franchise, leading
the first ever global approval of a RNAi therapeutic, ONPATTRO® (patisiran)
and late-stage development of vutrisiran (now AMVUTTRA®). Mr. Green's diverse
experience spans across R&D process engineering, pharmaceutical
manufacturing and operations, and global development and commercialization
strategy with former roles at Synageva BioPharma, Infinity Pharmaceuticals,
Genzyme Corporation and Pfizer. He received an MBA from MIT Sloan School of
Management and a M.S. in chemical engineering from MIT School of Engineering.
He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Michigan. At
Seaport, he will be responsible for implementing strategies to support the
growth and development of the company's pipeline across the organization.

 

Dr. Chen is Co-founder and has now been appointed Chief Scientific Officer of
Seaport. In his most recent role, Dr. Chen was the Head of Innovation at
PureTech Health, where he oversaw the rapid advancement of the
neuropsychiatric medicines that led to the launch of Seaport. These novel
medicines are now being advanced within Seaport's clinical-stage pipeline
powered by the Glyph platform, which leverages the lymphatic system to create
new medicines building on clinically validated mechanisms. Dr. Chen was
previously Co-founder and Head of Research and Strategy at Sonde Health, a
company developing vocal biomarkers for depression and other neuropsychiatric
disorders. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center and Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology. Dr. Chen completed
his Ph.D. at Stanford University, focusing on the neurobiological mechanisms
of risk for depression and sleep disorders. He received a B.A. from Yale
University.

 

"Denice exudes incredible passion and exuberance for making a difference for
patients, and we are delighted to enrich our board with her energy and
experience in neuroscience, manufacturing, commercialization and
organizational growth and culture. I feel privileged to be able to work
closely with her as we build out our team and advance our pipeline programs,"
said Daphne Zohar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Seaport. "I'm also
excited to welcome two key members to our executive team. I had the pleasure
of working with Michael as he played a critical role in the development of our
Glyph platform and pipeline and I look forward to working closely with him in
this expanded role. Eric is an accomplished leader and he will help propel
Seaport forward as we rapidly execute on our growth strategy and progress our
pipeline of important new medicines for patients in need."

 

About Seaport Therapeutics

Seaport Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing
the development of novel neuropsychiatric medicines in areas of high unmet
patient needs. The Company has a proven strategy of advancing clinically
validated mechanisms previously held back by limitations that are overcome
with its proprietary Glyph(TM) technology platform. All the therapeutic
candidates in its pipeline of first and best-in-class medicines are based on
the Glyph platform, which is uniquely designed to enable oral bioavailability,
bypass first-pass metabolism and reduce hepatotoxicity and other side effects.
Seaport is led by an experienced team that was involved in inventing and
advancing KarXT and other neuropsychiatric medicines and are guided by an
extensive network of renowned scientists, clinicians and key opinion leaders
across neurological specialties. For more information, please visit
www.seaporttx.com (http://www.seaporttx.com) .

 

About PureTech Health

PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to giving life
to new classes of medicine to change the lives of patients with devastating
diseases. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through its
experienced research and development team and its extensive network of
scientists, clinicians and industry leaders that is being advanced both
internally and through its Founded Entities. PureTech's R&D engine has
resulted in the development of 29 therapeutics and therapeutic candidates,
including two that have received both U.S. FDA clearance and European
marketing authorization and a third (KarXT) that has been filed for FDA
approval. A number of these programs are being advanced by PureTech or its
Founded Entities in various indications and stages of clinical development,
including registration enabling studies. All of the underlying programs and
platforms that resulted in this pipeline of therapeutic candidates were
initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team
through key validation points.

 

For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com
(http://www.puretechhealth.com/)  or connect with us on X (formerly Twitter)
@puretechh.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to
matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements,
including without limitation those related to Seaport's development plans and
our future prospects, developments and strategies. The forward-looking
statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause
actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current
expectations, including, but not limited to, those risks, uncertainties and
other important factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in our
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with
the SEC and in our other regulatory filings. 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, we disclaim
any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

Contact:

PureTech

Public Relations

publicrelations@puretechhealth.com (mailto:publicrelations@puretechhealth.com)

Investor Relations

IR@puretechhealth.com (mailto:IR@puretechhealth.com)

 

UK/EU Media

Ben Atwell, Rob Winder

+44 (0) 20 3727 1000

puretech@fticonsulting.com (mailto:puretech@fticonsulting.com)

 

US Media

Nichole Bobbyn

+1 774 278 8273

nichole@tenbridgecommunications.com
(mailto:nichole@tenbridgecommunications.com)

 

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  NRAKZGGKFVVGDZZ