CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aerpio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:ARPO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing first-in-class treatments for ocular diseases, today announced the nomination of a new director, Cheryl Cohen, to its Board of Directors. Ms. Cohen will stand for election at Aerpio’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 20, 2018. If approved, Ms. Cohen will bring to Aerpio more than 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a focus on strategic product positioning and product commercialization.
“We are pleased to welcome Cheryl, who possesses deep industry expertise in advancing innovative healthcare products through launch and commercialization,” stated Stephen Hoffman, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aerpio. “We believe her deep experience in product launch, commercialization and reimbursement will be invaluable to Aerpio as we further advance our key programs and build our proprietary product candidate pipeline.”
Ms. Cohen currently serves as president of CLC Consulting, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology consulting firm specializing in new product start-up and commercialization, which she incorporated in 2008. From 2011 to 2014, Ms. Cohen served as Chief Commercial Officer of Medivation, Inc., where she established and led the company's commercial organization and was responsible for the U.S. launch of Xtandi® (enzalutamide) for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Medivation was acquired by Pfizer Inc. for $14 billion in 2016. Ms. Cohen held leadership roles for over a decade at Johnson & Johnson, including as vice president, strategic commercial group, Health Care Systems, Inc., responsible for the negotiations of Johnson & Johnson's portfolio of products to ensure access and preferred positioning, and as vice president, rheumatology franchise, Centocor, Inc., where she had direct responsibility for the $1+ billion per year Remicade U.S. rheumatoid arthritis business. Ms. Cohen began her career at Solvay Pharmaceuticals in a variety of sales positions. Ms. Cohen currently serves on the boards of directors of Novus Therapeutics, a publicly traded company, and Vital Therapies, Inc., a public company. Ms. Cohen received her B.A. from Saint Joseph College.
Ms. Cohen stated, “As diabetic complications continue to grow worldwide, patients and physicians are seeking new approaches to address compelling unmet needs. Aerpio is rapidly progressing clinical development of its first-in-class therapeutic that I believe holds great promise in transforming the treatment of the complications of diabetes. I look forward to working closely with the talented team at Aerpio.”
In addition, the Company announced that effective as of the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Paul M. Weiss, Ph.D., will have completed his term as an Aerpio Board member and will no longer serve as a director for the Company.
Muneer Satter, Aerpio’s Chairman of the Board, commented, “We are grateful to Paul Weiss for his leadership since he joined the Board in 2011. His contributions have played a key role in the progress of the Company and the advancement of our products. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
About Aerpio Pharmaceuticals
Aerpio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing first-in-class treatments for ocular diseases. The Company’s lead compound, AKB‐9778, is a small molecule activator of the Tie2 pathway and is in clinical development for the treatment of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. For more information please visit www.aerpio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development of the Company’s product candidates, our long-term growth, and the therapeutic potential of the Company’s product candidates. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to several risk factors. Such factors include, among others, the ability to raise the additional funding needed to continue to develop our product candidates, the inherent uncertainties associated with the FDA and drug development process, competition in the industry in which the Company operates, and overall market conditions. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Investors should consult all the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factor disclosure set forth in the reports and other documents the Company files with the SEC available at www.sec.gov.
