NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BeyondSpring Inc. (the “Company” or “BeyondSpring”) (NASDAQ: BYSI), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative immuno-oncology and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia therapies, announced today that it has formed a Partnership Advisory Committee comprised of former multi-national pharmaceutical veterans and industry leaders. The committee is tasked with supporting BeyondSpring’s business development activities related to its lead asset, Plinabulin, and other pipeline assets. Mukul Agarwal, former Vice President, Corporate Development, at Forty Seven, Inc., and Dr. Daniel Zabrowski, former Global Head of Pharma Partnering at Roche and current BeyondSpring Board member, have been appointed as initial members of the committee. The Company expects to name additional members over time.
“As BeyondSpring nears submission of Plinabulin’s New Drug Application (NDA) and commercialization, having access to industry veterans who bring to bear track records of striking successful partnerships is of the utmost importance,” said Dr. Huang. “We are especially grateful to have Mr. Agarwal join our committee, as he was instrumental in Gilead’s acquisition of Forty Seven. We will rely on the guidance of Mr. Agarwal and Dr. Zabrowski to help BeyondSpring develop meaningful partnerships for Plinabulin and our other pipeline assets that greatly benefit patients and deliver long-term value to shareholders.”
Mr. Agarwal has over 20 years of experience working with both multi-national pharmaceutical and small biotech companies. He currently serves as ReCode Therapeutics’ Chief Business Officer. Previously, he was Vice President, Corporate Development, at Forty Seven, which Gilead acquired for $4.9 billion in March 2020. Prior to Forty Seven, Mr. Agarwal served as Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, at Revance Therapeutics, and Senior Director, Business Development and Licensing, at Anacor Pharmaceuticals, which Pfizer acquired for $5.2 billion. He was also Director, Global Business Development and Licensing, at Forest Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Allergan, now AbbVie) and served in other roles at MedImmune (now AstraZeneca) and GlaxoSmithKline.
Dr. Zabrowski previously worked for more than 20 years at Roche in a number of key global leadership positions, including Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, Global Head of Development Operations and Global Head of Pharma Partnering. During his tenure in business development, Dr. Zabrowski and his teams executed more than 300 acquisition and partnership deals. Currently, he serves as a Venture Partner at Decheng Capital.
“BeyondSpring has reached an important inflection point for the Company,” added Mr. Agarwal. “After recently receiving the Breakthrough Therapy Designation, BeyondSpring is expected to file an NDA for Plinabulin in the near-term, which I am hopeful will result in a rapid approval that allows us to help many patients in need.”
About BeyondSpring
Headquartered in New York, BeyondSpring is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative immuno-oncology and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia therapies to improve clinical outcomes. BeyondSpring’s first-in-class lead immune asset, Plinabulin, is a potent antigen-presenting cell inducer. It is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for two severely unmet medical needs indications: one is for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN), the most frequent cause for a chemotherapy regimen dose’s decrease, delay, downgrade or discontinuation, which can lead to suboptimal clinical outcomes. Plinabulin recently received a Breakthrough Therapy Designation from both the U.S. FDA and China’s NMPA for the CIN indication. The other indication is non-small cell lung cancer treatment in EGFR wild-type patients. As a “pipeline drug,” Plinabulin is in various I/O combination studies to boost PD-1 / PD-L1 antibody anti-cancer effects. In addition to Plinabulin, BeyondSpring’s extensive pipeline includes three pre-clinical immuno-oncology assets and a drug discovery platform dubbed “molecular glue” that uses the protein degradation pathway.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts. Words such as “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “design,” “may,” “future,” “estimate,” “predict,” “objective,” “goal,” or variations thereof and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on BeyondSpring’s current knowledge and its present beliefs and expectations regarding possible future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors including, but not limited to, difficulties raising the anticipated amount needed to finance the Company’s future operations on terms acceptable to the Company, if at all, unexpected results of clinical trials, delays or denial in regulatory approval process, results that do not meet our expectations regarding the potential safety, the ultimate efficacy or clinical utility of our product candidates, increased competition in the market, and other risks described in BeyondSpring’s most recent Form 20-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this release and BeyondSpring undertakes no obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as otherwise required by law.
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