MENLO PARK, Calif., June 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Versartis, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAR), an endocrine-focused biopharmaceutical company that is developing somavaratan, a novel, long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for growth hormone deficiency (GHD), today announced the appointment of Eric Dobmeier to its Board of Directors.
“Eric’s experience with pre-commercial and commercial-stage companies, as well as forming successful collaborations will offer a valuable perspective as we work to bring somavaratan to GHD patients in key markets globally,” said Jay Shepard, Chief Executive Officer of Versartis. “His involvement as an executive officer and board member of numerous biotech companies adds further depth to our active board, and we look forward to his participation in the growth of Versartis.”
Mr. Dobmeier currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Seattle Genetics, which is a role he has held since 2011. Since he began his career at Seattle Genetics in 2002, he has also served as Chief Business Officer, Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel. He oversees the company's business development, corporate communications, manufacturing and program/alliance management groups, as well as corporate strategy initiatives. While at the company, he has been responsible for the negotiation and completion of multiple corporate alliances, including the ex-U.S./Canada development and commercialization agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company for ADCETRIS®. He has also been instrumental in securing $1.2 billion in financing for Seattle Genetics’ growth. Previously, Mr. Dobmeier was with the law firms of Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman LLP where he represented technology companies in connection with public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions and corporate partnering transactions.
Mr. Dobmeier serves on the Boards of Directors of Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. and Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. He holds a J.D. from University of California, Berkeley School of Law and an A.B. in History from Princeton University.
About Versartis, Inc.
Versartis, Inc. is an endocrine-focused biopharmaceutical company initially developing somavaratan, a novel, long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of GHD in children and adults. Somavaratan is intended to reduce the burden of daily injection therapy by requiring significantly fewer injections, potentially improving adherence and, therefore, treatment outcomes. For more information on Versartis, visit www.versartis.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, plans and timing of our clinical trials and the potential for eventual regulatory approval of somavaratan. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2017, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and we assume no obligation to them after the date of this press release.