Venatorx Pharmaceuticals Announces Changes to Executive Leadership

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, a private, pre-commercial pharmaceutical company focused on improving health outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections and hard-to-treat viral infections, announced today several changes to its executive leadership team.

Manos Perros, PhD, has been appointed to the Board of Directors as Executive Chairman. Dr. Perros is a distinguished pharmaceutical and biotech executive with an impressive track record that includes more than 25 years in life sciences research and development. He was previously Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Entasis Therapeutics, where he successfully positioned the company as a leader in the antimicrobial space, resulting in its acquisition by Innoviva in 2022. While at Entasis, Dr. Perros oversaw the development of Xacduro, which recently earned U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval as the first targeted treatment for Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia. Prior to founding Entasis, Dr. Perros held the positions of Vice President and Head of AstraZeneca’s Infection Research and Early Development organization and Site Head for AstraZeneca’s Boston R&D research center. Dr. Perros also served as Director of the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases in Singapore, and Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer, Antivirals, at Pfizer, where he led an R&D program that culminated in the approval of Selzentry, a first-in-class treatment for HIV.

Dr. Perros’ appointment follows the resignation of Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D., who has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Venatorx Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Tomas J. Heyman has stepped down as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.

“On behalf of the entire Company, I would like to personally thank Chris for his dedication and tireless perseverance to lead Venatorx for over 14 years as an innovative pioneer in the fight against anti-microbial resistance. The Board of Directors sincerely appreciates his contributions along with the endless support and leadership that have guided the Company toward achieving its mission. I am delighted to join Venatorx Pharmaceuticals and to have an opportunity to help advance cefepime-taniborbactam through regulatory review and toward FDA approval to address the growing unmet need for novel treatments for patients suffering from multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacterial infections,” Dr. Perros said. “As recent Phase III data in The New England Journal of Medicine established, cefepime-taniborbactam met the primary noninferiority efficacy endpoint and demonstrated statistical superiority to meropenem for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), including acute pyelonephritis, while having a similar safety profile to meropenem. This therapy has enormous potential and may represent a significant improvement over the standard of care that could support global health efforts to combat antibiotic-resistant infections for patients around the world.”

About Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Venatorx is a private, late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on improving health outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections and hard-to-treat viral infections. Venatorx’s lead program, cefepime-taniborbactam, is a clinical-stage antibiotic that successfully completed a Phase 3 study in adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis. In October 2022, BARDA awarded a contract of up to $318M for development and procurement of cefepime-taniborbactam for the treatment of melioidosis and multi-drug resistant infections. Venatorx is also developing an oral antibacterial, ceftibuten-ledaborbactam (formerly known as VNRX-7145), for the treatment of cUTI, including pyelonephritis, caused by certain bacteria in adult patients with limited treatment options; this product is completing Phase 1 and will advance directly to a global Phase 3 cUTI clinical trial. For more information about Venatorx and its anti-infectives portfolio, please visit www.venatorx.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains 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 statements regarding the potential, safety, efficacy, and regulatory and clinical development of Venatorx Pharmaceuticals’ product candidates.

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