--Announces Reorganization of Board of
Directors--
Virpax® Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Virpax” or the “Company”)
(NASDAQ: VRPX), a company specializing in developing
non-addictive products for pain management, post-traumatic stress
disorder, central nervous system (CNS) disorders and anti-viral
barrier indications, today announced that it has closed a $2.5
million secured loan financing from an institutional investor which
enabled the final payment of its litigation settlement. As part of
this financing, the Company’s Board of Directors has been
reorganized, and has been reduced to seven members from eight. Four
new board members have been selected by the institutional investor
and appointed to the Board, and five Board members have
resigned.
“This loan by the institutional investor, combined with an
agreement to negotiate additional funding, will allow us to
continue fulfilling our mission to develop non-addictive pain drugs
as well as other CNS product candidates with high unmet medical
need,” stated Gerald Bruce, CEO of Virpax Pharmaceuticals. “We
believe we have a valuable portfolio of assets which was confirmed
to us by the high level of interest we received at the recent BIO
meeting in San Diego. Our new funding relationship gives us the
confidence and flexibility to fund our programs moving
forward.”
Additionally, Virpax announced the changes to its Board of
Directors with the appointments of Ms. Judy Su, Mr. Gary Herman,
Mr. Jatinder Dhaliwal and Ms. Katharyn Field. Resignations from
Virpax’s Board were tendered effective upon consummation of the
financing by Dr. Jeffrey Gudin, Dr. Thanigavelan Jambulingam, Mr.
Michael Dubin, Mr. Jerrold Sendrow and Dr. Barbara Ruskin.
“We are excited to welcome our new Board members whom we
anticipate will bring expertise and fresh vision to assist us as we
move into our next stage of development. We expect to begin
first-in-human trials in 2025,” continued Mr. Bruce.
Ms. Judy Su was lead pharmacist at a national drug store for six
years and has knowledge and experience of large-scale retail
distribution of scheduled drugs and medications. Currently, Ms. Su
works as a pharmacist in the public sector. She has years of
experience serving as an independent director for multiple publicly
traded companies listed in Canada (CSE,TSX). Judy graduated in 2012
at the University of British Columbia with a bachelor's degree in
pharmacy.
Mr. Gary Herman is a seasoned investor. From 2006 until 2021, he
co-managed Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners, LP (Cayman), and
from 2005 until 2020 he was affiliated with Arcadia Securities LLC.
Gary’s expertise extended to his role as a managing member of
Abacoa Capital Management, LLC from January 2011 until August 2013,
where his focus centered on the Global-Macro investment strategy.
His background also includes tenure as an investment banker at
Burnham Securities, Inc., a managing partner of Kingshill Group,
Inc., and as a director for various public company boards. Mr.
Herman received a B.S. in Political Science from the University at
Albany, with minors in Business and Music.
Mr. Jatinder (Jay) Dhaliwal is a registered pharmacist and has
served as CEO and director of multiple publicly traded companies
listed on Canadian (CSE, TSX) and American (Nasdaq) exchanges. Mr.
Dhaliwal is currently a director of a Nasdaq listed leading seed to
patient cannabis producer in Europe as well as serving as an
independent director of a Nasdaq listed premier marketing agency
specialized in the liquor industry. Previously, he worked in an
upper management role in a large national pharmacy and has
extensive knowledge in agricultural, medical and pharmaceutical
operations. Mr. Dhaliwal holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the
University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science in biology
from the University of Victoria.
Ms. Katharyn (Katie) Field’s background includes positions
spanning both the private and public sectors and brings a wealth of
experience and expertise in strategy consulting and executive
leadership. Ms. Field is currently the CEO and Chairman of Halo
Collective Inc., an Executive Director at Akanda Corporation, and
the Chairperson of Aerwins Technology. She has held prominent
positions at renowned organizations including in the White House in
the office of the public liaison, the Brookings Institution as a
manager of operations, and Bain & Company as a consultant. In
2014, Ms. Field entered the cannabis industry working with one of
the original vertically integrated licensed medical marijuana
treatment centers in Florida. Subsequently, she operated a strategy
consulting practice focused on cannabis and served as Executive
Vice President of Corporate Development at MariMed from 2018 to
2019. Ms. Field holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA
with honors from Stanford University.
“We are grateful to the outgoing Board members and thank them
for their support and contributions,” concluded Mr. Bruce.
About Virpax Pharmaceuticals
Virpax is developing branded, non-addictive pain management
products candidates using its proprietary technologies to optimize
and target drug delivery. Virpax is initially seeking FDA approval
for two prescription drug candidates that employ two different
patented drug delivery platforms. Probudur™ is a single injection
liposomal bupivacaine formulation being developed to manage
post-operative pain and Envelta™ is an intranasal molecular
envelope enkephalin formulation being developed to manage severe
pain, including post cancer pain. Virpax is also using its
intranasal Molecular Envelope Technology (MET) to develop one other
prescription product candidate, NobrXiol™, which is being developed
for the nasal delivery of a pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol (CBD)
for the management of rare pediatric epilepsy. Virpax has
competitive cooperative research and development agreements
(CRADAs) for two of its prescription drug candidates, one with the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and one with the Department of
Defense (DOD). Virpax is also seeking approval of two
nonprescription product candidates: AnQlar, which is being
developed to inhibit viral replication caused by influenza or
SARS-CoV-2, and Epoladerm™, which is a topical diclofenac spray
film formulation being developed to manage pain associated with
osteoarthritis. For more information, please visit virpaxpharma.com
and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, as amended, including those described below. These
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations,
estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets
in which we operate and management's current beliefs and
assumptions.
These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking
expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate,"
"intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential,” "predict,"
"project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the
negatives of those terms and include statements regarding an
agreement to negotiate additional funding, allowing the Company to
continue fulfilling its mission to develop non-addictive pain drugs
as well as other CNS product candidates with high unmet medical
need; the portfolio of assets which being valuable, the new funding
relationship giving the Company confidence and flexibility to fund
its programs moving forward, the new Board members bringing
expertise and fresh vision to assist the Company as it moves into
its next stage of development, and beginning the first-in-human
trials in 2025. These statements relate to future events and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors,
including the contributions to be derived from the new board
members, the ability to raise future funding sufficient to enable
the Company to continue to fulfill its mission, fund its programs
and begin first-in-human trials in 2025 and other factors listed
under "Risk Factors" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that the Company has filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240708446780/en/
Investor Relations:
Betsy Brod Affinity Growth Advisors
Betsy.brod@affinitygrowth.com (917) 923-8541
Media:
Robert Cavosi RooneyPartners rcavosi@rooneypartners.com (646)
638-9891
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