Bioniz Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Alexandre Kaoukhov to Leadership Team

IRVINE, Calif., March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc., (“Bioniz”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of first-in-class peptide-based multi-cytokine inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced today the appointment of Alexandre Kaoukhov, M.D., as Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development. Dr. Kaoukhov will lead Bioniz’s clinical development, which includes a phase 3 study of BNZ-1 for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare cancer, and clinical studies of BNZ-1 for alopecia areata and BNZ-2 for celiac disease.

“At Bioniz, we have successfully advanced a novel peptide-based anti-cytokine therapy in clinical trials and shown the potential of our therapeutic platform to selectively target multiple cytokines that drive disease,” said Nazli Azimi, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Founder, President, and CEO of Bioniz Therapeutics. “We are excited that Alex has joined us from Almirall as our lead drug candidate, BNZ-1, enters late-stage clinical trials, and we prepare the rest of our pipeline to enter clinical studies for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with high unmet medical needs.”

Dr. Kaoukhov brings more than 20 years of drug development experience, most recently as Head of Global Development at Almirall, an international biopharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for global clinical development for novel dermatology drugs. Prior to Almirall, Dr. Kaoukhov was Associate Vice President of Clinical Development at Allergan, where he was responsible for all dermatology drug development. Prior to Allergan, he held various leadership roles at Novartis and Galderma. Dr. Kaoukhov received his M.D. degree from First Moscow State Medical University and trained in dermatology and conducted clinical research at Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris.

About Bioniz’s Pipeline of Multi-Cytokine Inhibitors
Bioniz recently completed a phase 2 study of the company’s lead product candidate, BNZ-1, in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and is planning a phase 3 later this year in CTCL. BNZ-1 is a selective inhibitor of cytokines IL-2, IL-9, and IL-15, which are potent T-cell growth factors and key disease drivers in CTCL and autoimmune diseases. Bioniz is also planning a phase 2 study of BNZ-1 for the treatment of alopecia areata, which is also driven by unregulated T-cell biology. The Company is designing a phase 1 study in celiac disease for its second product candidate, BNZ-2, a selective inhibitor of cytokines IL-15 and IL-21, which are key drivers of inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

About Bioniz Therapeutics
Bioniz Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of first-in-class peptide-based multi-cytokine inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Bioniz leverages its world class expertise in cytokine biology to develop a novel approach to selectively inhibit functionally redundant cytokines while leaving the rest of the cytokine network intact. For more information, please visit www.bioniz.com.

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SOURCE Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc.