TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vasomune Therapeutics, Inc., an early stage therapeutic biopharmaceutical company developing a novel first-in-class medicine for the treatment of COVID-19/pathogen-induced ARDS, today announced the appointment of Meenu Chhabra to the Company’s Board of Directors. Ms. Chhabra is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTI).

“Ms. Chhabra is an experienced highly regarded leader in the life sciences industry with particular expertise in operations, business development and finance,” said Douglas A. Hamilton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vasomune. “We are delighted to have Meenu join the Vasomune team as we transition to the clinic with our novel investigational medicine to treat ARDS.”

Ms. Chhabra has been serving as President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc., since May 2014. From August 2007 to May 2014, Ms. Chhabra was President and Chief Executive Officer at Allozyne, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From December 2006 to August 2007, she served as Vice President of Business Development and Licensing at the Novartis Pharmaceuticals division of Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS). From July 2003 to November 2006, she served as Chief Business Officer at BioXell SpA, a spin-off from F. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd.’s Milan Research Institute (Italy), where she led corporate development and financing activities. Ms. Chhabra has also held management positions with Fresenius Kabi AG, Warner-Lambert Company, LLC, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY). She obtained her M.B.A. from York University and her B.Sc. from the University of Toronto. Ms. Chhabra is a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Board and is a member of the Emerging Companies Section.

“I’m excited to join Vasomune’s Board and help build the company during this important transition and contribute to the company’s mission of developing innovative medications for critically ill patients with ARDS and COVID-19 pneumonia,” stated Ms. Chhabra.

About AV-001

AV-001 is an investigational medicine designed to activate the Tie2 receptor and restore normal barrier defense in the vasculature. Following trauma or infection, the body’s host vascular response can become unchecked, leading to vascular leak and ultimately organ failure and death. Vasomune is developing AV-001 for the treatment of pathogen-induced moderate-to-severe ARDS. ARDS is a life-threatening condition that can develop after pneumonia, trauma, shock and sepsis, and is also the leading cause of death for patients infected with COVID-19. Prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the combined annual incidence of ARDS is approximately 370,000 patients per year in the US and EU with an average mortality rate of 40%. At present, there are no effective therapeutics to treat ARDS.

About Vasomune Therapeutics

Vasomune Therapeutics is a private early stage biopharmaceutical company developing the next generation of medicines to harness the body’s ability to defend against illness by modifying the host vascular response. The company is transitioning in the near term to the clinic with a novel therapeutic approach to ARDS that involves targeting a signaling molecule in the vasculature responsible for regulating barrier defense. Vascular dysfunction is associated with the pathology of several disease states, including COVID-19 pneumonia, acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, hemorrhagic fever, sepsis and diabetic nephropathy. Vasomune’s head office and laboratory is located in Toronto, Canada and US offices in San Mateo CA. For more information about the company and its product candidates, please visit www.vasomune.com or email the President and CEO of Vasomune at Dhamilton@vasomune.com.

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