SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: VTL), a biotherapeutic company developing ELAD®, a cell-based therapy targeting treatment of acute liver failure, announced the addition of John Dunn as General Counsel, reporting to Terry Winters, Ph.D., the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman.
"I'm pleased to have a seasoned executive and legal professional like John join the Vital Therapies management team," said Dr. Winters. "As we look to prepare the Company for the future, including potential product commercialization, John's longstanding and diverse experience with successful life sciences companies, and his expertise in issues surrounding biologics in particular, will be invaluable."
Mr. Dunn joins the Company with over 30 years of corporate and legal experience. Most recently, Mr. Dunn provided legal and corporate development advisory services to technology and life sciences companies. From 2004 to 2012, Mr. Dunn was Executive Vice President – New Ventures with Biogen Idec. From 2002 through 2003, Mr. Dunn served as Senior Vice President, Legal and Compliance, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Idec Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Idec, Mr. Dunn was a Partner in the Corporate, Securities and Technology Group with Pillsbury Winthrop, LLP where his practice focused on the healthcare industry.
About Vital Therapies, Inc.
Vital Therapies, Inc. is a biotherapeutic company developing a cell-based therapy targeting treatment of acute liver failure. The Company's lead product-candidate, the ELAD System, is an extracorporeal bio-artificial liver therapy currently in Phase 3 clinical trials. Vital Therapies, Inc. is based in San Diego, California. Vital Therapies® and ELAD® are trademarks of Vital Therapies, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements concerning or implying expectations for the performance of our management team. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current, preliminary expectations and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements do not constitute guarantees of future performance and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company's dependence on the success of its ELAD system, its sole product candidate; the success or failure of its clinical trials and development programs; difficulty obtaining regulatory approval in the United States or Europe, in particular for a combination product; whether a single Phase 3 clinical trial is sufficient to support FDA approval and whether the FDA will require the Company to conduct additional clinical trials; the Company's limited experience in conducting pivotal clinical trials and significant issues regarding its clinical trials, including, but not limited to, the successful opening and the continued participation of clinical sites and their ongoing adherence to protocols, assumptions regarding enrollment rates, timing and availability of subjects meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, changes to protocols or regulatory requirements, the ability to comply with and meet applicable laws and regulations, and unexpected adverse events or safety issues and the sufficiency of funding. There can be no assurance that data from any of our clinical trials will be sufficient to support an application for marketing in any country or that any such application will ever be approved. These and other risks regarding our business are described in detail in our SEC filings, including in our recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and Vital Therapies, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update these statements except as may be required by law.