REG - Ovoca Bio PLC - Board Changes and Update

Ovoca BioAnnouncement

31/01/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 0574A  Ovoca Bio PLC  31 January 2022

Ovoca Bio plc

("Ovoca" or the "Company")

 

Board Changes and Update

Dublin, Ireland, 31 January 2022 - Ovoca Bio plc (LSE: OVB; ISE: OVXA) a
biopharmaceutical company with a focus on women's health, is pleased to
announce the appointment of Dr. Kristina Zakurdaeva, MD, PhD as an Independent
Non-Executive Director effective immediately. Dr. Zakurdaeva succeeds Chris
Wiltshire on the Board. Mr. Wiltshire has resigned from the Board and role of
Chief Business Officer with immediate effect to pursue other business
interests.

Dr. Zakurdaeva currently serves as CEO of New York-based Incuron (Buffalo,
NY), a drug development company in the oncology sector. Before Incuron, she
served as Chief Medical Officer at Gero (Singapore/Russia), a drug discovery
company focused on aging and aging-related diseases, where she developed
clinical strategy for the company's pipeline.

Prior to Incuron, Kristina worked as a Scientific Advisor at Bristol-Myers
Squibb and later headed oncology and immunology R&D projects in the Biomed
Cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation (Moscow) where she successfully launched
the Cancer Center of Excellence. Dr. Zakurdaeva is a Founder and Chair of the
Foundation Board for the Foundation for Cancer Research Support (Russia) and
has authored numerous, recent, peer-reviewed publications and co-authored a
scientific discovery in genetics. Kristina holds a medical doctor degree in
internal medicine and hematology, as well as a PhD in genetics of acute
leukemia.

Kirill Golovanov, Chief Executive & Interim Chairman of Ovoca Bio,
commented: "We are extremely excited to appoint Kristina Zakurdaeva to our
Board. Her appointment, following that of Anastasia Levashova, adds to the
complementary skill sets and breadth of perspectives on the Board of Ovoca
Bio. Dr. Zakurdaeva brings extensive expertise in biotech and drug development
in the USA and globally. Her strong clinical and scientific background, as
well as business development experience, will be invaluable in the next stages
of Ovoca Bio's journey. On behalf of the Company, I would also like to thank
Chris for his contribution to the Board and as Chief Business Officer."

Operational updates

In addition to these Board changes, Ovoca Bio today announces the following
updates:

·    Seventy percent of patients have now been enrolled in the Phase II
dose ranging study assessing Orenetide (BP-101) being conducted in Australia
and New Zealand. While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impact clinical
trial related activities globally and has affected our trial, the Company
intends to complete recruitment of participants in H1 2022.

 

·    The Marketing Authorization ("MA") application for orenetide is still
under review by the Russian Ministry of Health (the "Minzdrav"). While Ovoca
cannot be definitive about timelines, management remains optimistic with
regard to approval perspectives for Orenetide in Russia and is hopeful that
the review process will be completed shortly. A further announcement in
relation to the approval process will be released by the Company as and when
appropriate.

 

Additional Information:

 

Kristina Zakurdaeva (formerly Khodova) (aged 37 years) does not hold any
ordinary shares or share options in the Company.

 

 Current Directorships / Partnerships              Past Directorships / Partnerships
 Incuron, Inc                                      -
 OncoTartis, Inc
 Tartis Aging, LLC
 Foundation for Cancer Research Support (RakFond)

 

 

The Company confirms that there is no other information that is required to be
disclosed under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies and Rule 5.22 (b)
of Chapter 5: Additional Rules for the Euronext Growth Market operated by
Euronext Dublin.

 

End

 

For further information:

Ovoca Bio plc

Kirill Golovanov (Chief Executive)

Tel +353 1 661 9819

info@ovocabio.com (mailto:info@ovocabio.com)

 

Davy (Nominated Adviser, Euronext Growth Advisor and Broker)

John Frain / Daragh O'Reilly

Tel: +353 1 679 6363

 

Consilium Strategic Communications

Chris Gardner, Chris Welsh, Carina Jurs

ovocabio@consilium-comms.com

Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700

 

 

About Ovoca Bio

Ovoca Bio is a European-based biopharmaceutical company with a focus on
women's health. The Company is currently developing a novel treatment for
women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

 

The Company's lead product, BP-101, a novel synthetic peptide administered
through a nasal spray, is clinically validated, with Phase II and Phase III
studies conducted in Russia demonstrating statistically significant
improvement in a number of key efficacy outcomes, including an increase in
female sexual desire and reduction of symptoms of distress associated with
HSDD.

 

Ovoca Bio is seeking to develop the drug for major global markets - in
particular the United States and Europe, as well as obtain marketing
approval in the Russian Federation.

 

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