Ocera Therapeutics Announces Change in Executive Team


PALO ALTO, Calif., May 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocera Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCRX), today announced that Rajiv Patni, M.D., chief development officer, has decided to step down from his position for personal reasons, effective June 1, 2015. The company's former chief development and chief medical officer, Franck Rousseau, M.D., who has been a consultant with Ocera since his departure, will lead the company's clinical development efforts on an interim basis.

"Ocera is an outstanding company with creative and talented employees, and it has been an honor to serve as the company's chief development officer," said Dr. Patni. "I believe the company has a promising asset in OCR-002 to treat hepatic encephalopathy, and is poised for success given the recent achievements with its clinical program. My decision to leave is strictly personal, and I look forward to watching Ocera's continued success."

"This is an exciting time for Ocera and OCR-002," said Dr. Rousseau. "The company has made substantial progress executing on its strategy and completed significant milestones in the development of this much needed therapeutic for patients with HE. I'm pleased to be a part of the team."

"We thank Rajiv for his service to Ocera, and wish him the best in his future endeavors," said Linda Grais, M.D., chief executive officer of Ocera. "We also thank Franck for providing continuity for our clinical trial execution, and are confident this transition should not impede our continued progress, including our enrollment timelines with STOP-HE."

About Ocera

Ocera Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of OCR-002 (ornithine phenylacetate) in both intravenous and oral formulations. OCR-002 is an ammonia scavenger and has been granted orphan drug designation and Fast Track status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hyperammonemia and resultant hepatic encephalopathy in patients with acute liver failure and acute-on-chronic liver disease. For additional information, please see www.ocerainc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including, without limitation, all statements related to the OCR-002 clinical development program, including but not limited to the potential benefits of OCR-002 to help patients with hepatic encephalopathy and the expected timing of the completion of enrollment of its "STOP-HE" study. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believe," "expected," "hope," "plan," "potential," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Ocera's current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and Ocera's actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Ocera's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and subsequent filings with the SEC. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Ocera undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.



            

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