Dr. Golan, an infectious disease thought leader at Tufts Medical Center, fills key clinical position to help advance Appili’s infectious disease portfolio
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 21, 2020 – Appili Therapeutics Inc. (TSXV: APLI) (the “Company” or “Appili”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on anti-infective drug development, today announced that it has appointed Yoav Golan, MD, to serve as the Company’s first Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Golan has spent his 25+ year-career as an infectious disease (ID) medical specialist, most recently serving as an attending physician in the Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center, and as an associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. In his role as Appili’s CMO, Dr. Golan will be responsible for the clinical development strategy and execution across all of Appili’s pipeline assets, which is comprised of a broad spectrum of antimicrobial candidates. In particular, he will be a leadership resource for applying medical and scientific rigor to Appili’s clinical programs.
“As Appili’s pipeline assets progress toward active clinical trials, and our focus expands to include multiple types of antimicrobial programs, now is the optimal time to add patient-centered medical expertise to our leadership team,” said Armand Balboni, MD, PhD Chief Executive Officer, Appili Therapeutics. “We are thrilled to have an executive with Yoav’s caliber to lead our clinical programs; his lifelong commitment to patients and the breadth and depth of his infectious disease acumen will be invaluable resources for our work.”
Dr. Golan has conducted extensive research in the ID space, publishing several books and over 50 peer-reviewed studies in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet Infectious Diseases. His research focuses on hospital-acquired infections with emphasis on ICU infections, the impact of antibiotic resistance on outcomes, and development of early culture-independent treatment strategies. Dr. Golan’s recent work has focused on C. difficile infections as well as invasive candidiasis. He has been involved in the development of multiple anti-infectives, including, fidaxomicin, ceftaroline and bezlotuximab.
In addition to his work at Tufts, he has served several executive positions at biotechnology companies, including as Chief Scientific Officer of Profility Inc. and as Chief Executive Officer, ExArca Pharmaceuticals. He is on the peer review committee of multiple medical and scientific journals and is a member of numerous medical societies, including the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Society for Microbiology. Dr. Golan is a graduate of the Hadassah School of Medicine at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. He completed a medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, followed by a transplant ID fellowship and masters in statistics and modeling at Tufts University School of Medicine.
“Now more than ever, we need strong, creative, and viable solutions to address the increasing threat of emerging infections,” said Dr. Golan. “Appili is doing excellent work to advance critical programs in the infectious disease space, and I look forward to continued work with the Board and the Company’s leadership team to advance research and help the patients who need better anti-infective options.”
Dr. Golan has served Appili in an advisory capacity since the Company’s inception in 2016. He will initially join Appili’s leadership team in a part time role and plans to maintain his work with Tufts Medical Center, also in a part-time capacity.
About Appili Therapeutics
Appili Therapeutics Inc. was founded to advance the global fight against infectious disease by matching clearly defined patient needs with drug development programs that provide solutions to existing challenges patients, doctors, and society face in this critical disease space. Appili has built a pipeline of assets designed to address a broad range of significant unmet medical needs in the infectious disease landscape. This diverse pipeline aims to address some of the most urgent threats in global public health, including ATI-2307, a novel, broad spectrum, clinical-stage antifungal candidate in development for severe and difficult-to-treat invasive fungal infections; ATI-1701, a vaccine candidate for tularemia, a very serious biological weapons threat; ATI-1503, a drug discovery program aimed at generating a novel class of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative superbugs; and ATI-1501, which employs Appili’s proprietary, taste-masked, oral-suspension technology with metronidazole for the growing number of patients with difficulty swallowing. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with offices in Toronto, Ontario, Appili is pursuing worldwide opportunities in collaboration with scientific and industry commercial partners, governments and government agencies. For more information, visit www.AppiliTherapeutics.com.
Forward looking statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” which reflect the current expectations of the Company’s management for future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as “may “, “would “, “could “, “should”, “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “potential for” and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation, those listed in the annual information form of the Company dated July 3, 2019 and the other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities’ regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors should be considered carefully, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
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Appili Therapeutics
TSX-V: APLI
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