Marinus Pharmaceuticals Appoints Sasha Damouni Ellis as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications


RADNOR, Pa., March 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNS), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics to treat orphan seizure disorders, today announced the appointment of Sasha Damouni Ellis as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, reporting to Scott Braunstein, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Marinus. In this role, Ms. Damouni Ellis will lead strategic investor relations and communications programs, and will work closely with investors, employees, advocacy groups, patient organizations and the media.

“As we build on our recent clinical success to strategically develop ganaxolone in orphan seizure disorders, the addition of Sasha to the Marinus team significantly strengthens our capabilities to enhance relationships with key stakeholders,” said Dr. Braunstein. “Sasha’s diverse communications expertise will be a critical asset as we advance through a number of near-term milestones that include data from our pivotal Phase 3 trial in children with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, our first potential new drug application and additional trial initiations; including a pivotal Phase 3 trial for status epilepticus. We are thrilled to have her on the team and look forward to her leadership in communicating our exciting mission.”

Ms. Damouni Ellis said, “I am excited to be joining the Marinus team, who have shown a profound commitment to providing desperately needed treatments for patients with serious orphan seizure disorders. The data across the company’s clinical programs are compelling, and I look forward to playing a key role in communicating our vision and unique approach in advancing ganaxolone across targeted and mechanistically relevant disease states.”

Ms. Damouni Ellis brings close to 20 years of healthcare experience, including financial communications, issues management, and executive visibility to Marinus. Immediately prior to joining the company, Ms. Damouni Ellis was Director of External Communications and Media Relations for Bayer U.S., where she drove external brand-building strategies in therapeutic areas of oncology, hemophilia, cardio-pulmonary, and women’s health. Prior to Bayer, she was a Senior Healthcare Journalist at Bloomberg News where she focused on articles related to high profile FDA advisory committee meetings, drugs in development, intellectual property and mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Damouni Ellis launched and was Global Editor of BioPharm Insight, formerly a division of the Financial Times Group, where she managed a group of three analysts and nine journalists in London and New York. She has also held roles at Mergermarket, and a number of leading international newspapers. Ms. Damouni Ellis earned her Master of Arts from City, University of London’s Graduate School of Journalism, in the United Kingdom, and her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Richmond, the American International University in London, United Kingdom.

About Marinus Pharmaceuticals
Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics to treat orphan seizure disorders. Ganaxolone is a positive allosteric modulator of GABAA that acts on a well-characterized target in the brain known to have anti-seizure, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects. Ganaxolone is being developed in IV and oral dose forms intended to maximize therapeutic reach to adult and pediatric patient populations in both acute and chronic care settings. Marinus is conducting the first ever pivotal studies in children with CDKL5 deficiency disorder and PCDH19-related epilepsy. Based on results from a recent Phase 2 study in refractory SE and from biomarker analysis research, the Company intends to initiate later this year a Phase 3 study in SE and a Phase 2 study in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), respectively. For more information visit www.marinuspharma.com. Please follow us on Twitter: @MarinusPharma.

Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Marinus, they are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “intend”, “believe”, and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, among others, statements regarding our interpretation of preclinical studies, development plans for our product candidate, including the development of dose forms, the clinical study testing schedule and milestones, the ability to complete enrollment in our clinical studies, interpretation of scientific basis for ganaxolone use, timing for availability and release of data, the safety, potential efficacy and therapeutic potential of our product candidate and our expectation regarding the sufficiency of our working capital. Forward-looking statements in this release involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in the conduct of future clinical studies, the timing of the clinical studies, enrollment in clinical studies, availability of data from ongoing clinical studies, expectations for regulatory approvals, the attainment of clinical study results that will be supportive of regulatory approvals, and other matters, including the development of formulations of ganaxolone, and the availability or potential availability of alternative products or treatments for conditions targeted by the Company that could affect the availability or commercial potential of our drug candidates. Marinus undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the Company in general, see filings Marinus has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT: 

Sasha Damouni Ellis
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
484-253-6792
sdamouni@marinuspharma.com