LA JOLLA, CA, April 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRI Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRI) (“GRI Bio” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company advancing an innovative pipeline of Natural Killer T (“NKT”) cell modulators for the treatment of inflammatory, fibrotic and autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointments of David Szekeres, Roelof Rongen, MSE, MBA, and Camilla V. Simpson, M.Sc. to the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Szekeres will serve as Chairman of the Board. As previously announced, GRI Bio will commence trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “GRI”, effective today, April 24, 2023, as a result of its recently completed its merger with Vallon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“We are delighted to welcome David, Roelof, and Camilla during this pivotal transformation of GRI Bio,” commented Marc Hertz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of GRI Bio. “The addition of these well-known and well-respected industry leaders emphasizes our belief in the opportunity GRI Bio has and the potential for significant value creation through the advancement of our innovative NKT modulator technology. Roelof, Camilla and David are each distinguished pioneers in the biopharmaceutical industry and bring significant business, operational and financial acumen, along with valuable insights and perspectives that we look forward to leveraging as we drive the Company through its next stage of growth.”
David Szekeres
Mr. Szekeres has more than two decades of experience in the global life sciences industry as a finance and business development executive, deal maker, legal counsel and board member. Mr. Szekeres joined Heron Therapeutics, Inc. as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Finance. Prior to this, he served as Chief Business Officer, Principal Financial Officer and General Counsel at Regulus Therapeutics Inc. Mr. Szekeres also served as head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities and Governance, at Life Technologies Corporation through its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Earlier, Mr. Szekeres served as corporate attorney at a number of law firms, including Latham & Watkins LLP. Mr. Szekeres currently serves on Sanford Burnham Prebys’ board of directors. He also served on the board of directors of Edico Genome Inc. until its acquisition by Illumina in 2018 and Patara Pharma until its acquisition by Roivant Sciences in 2018.
Mr. Szekeres received his undergraduate degree in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine and his J.D. from Duke University School of Law.
Roelof Rongen, MSE, MBA
Mr. Rongen is a serial entrepreneur, company builder and R&D/Commercial Development leader with extensive experience across many therapeutic areas and functions. Mr. Rongen was integral to the development and commercialization of products such as Humira® and Lovaza®. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of gene-therapy company, Adolore BioTherapeutics, Managing Partner of AsteRx Pharma Consulting and Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Molecules. He founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Matinas BioPharma, a public company that developed omega-3 drug candidates and advanced a lipid crystal nano particle drug delivery technology. Prior, Mr. Rongen served as Executive Vice President at Trygg Pharma where he facilitated Norway’s Aker Group’s entry into the prescription omega-3 business, and ultimate sale to FMC. Before Aker, Mr. Rongen was VP for IP and Portfolio Management at Reliant Pharmaceuticals (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline) where he in-licensed Lovaza® and led development and pre-launch activities. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rongen was Global Product Director for Humira® and other Immunology Programs at BASF Pharma (acquired by Abbott/Abbvie). Mr. Rongen started his professional career as a management consultant at Arthur D. Little’s Technology Innovation Management practice and as a biotech/pharmaceutical consultant at The Wilkerson Group (acquired by IBM).
Mr. Rongen received a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in Molecular Sciences (with Biotechnology/Bio-Process Technology focus) graduate degree from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and an MBA from the Kellogg Business School at Northwestern University.
Camilla V. Simpson, M.Sc.
Ms. Simpson serves as Chief Executive Officer of Zehna Therapeutics, an early-stage biotech and spin-out from the Cleveland Clinic. Since 2019, she has been the Managing Member and President of Rare Strategic, LLC where she provides strategic advice and consulting services to Biotech companies. Earlier, she was SVP, Head of Product Portfolio Development at BioMarin where she was responsible for corporate and R&D governance, program leadership, project management, competitive intelligence, portfolio strategy, and business analytics. Prior, Ms. Simpson was Group Vice President Global Regulatory Affairs and was Vice President Regulatory Affairs EU at BioMarin. She also spent 12 years at Shire, where after multiple roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately held the position of Vice President Regulatory Affairs Early Development and Business Development. Ms. Simpson currently serves on the board of directors for Spruce Biosciences and Dyve Biosciences.
Ms. Simpson holds a B.Sc. from University College Galway, Ireland, a B.Sc. Hons. from Kingston University, UK, and an M.Sc. with distinction from the University of London, UK.
About GRI Bio, Inc.
GRI Bio is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on fundamentally changing the way inflammatory, fibrotic and autoimmune diseases are treated. GRI’s therapies are designed to target the activity of NKT cells, which are key regulators earlier in the inflammatory cascade, to interrupt disease progression and restore the immune system to homeostasis. NKT cells are innate-like T cells that share properties of both NK and T cells and are a functional link between the innate and adaptive immune responses. Type I invariant NKT (iNKT) cells play a critical role in propagating the injury, inflammatory response, and fibrosis observed in inflammatory and fibrotic indications. GRI’s lead program, GRI-0621, is an inhibitor of iNKT cell activity and is being developed as a novel oral therapeutic for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a serious disease with significant unmet need. The Company is also developing a pipeline of novel Type 2 NKT agonists for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. Additionally, with a library of over 500 proprietary compounds, GRI has the ability to fuel a growing pipeline.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “aim,” “should,” "will,” “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company’s expectations with respect to financial results, future performance, development and commercialization of products and services, the initiation or completion of clinical studies, the potential benefits and impact of GRI Bio's products and services, potential regulatory approvals, anticipated financial impacts and other effects of the merger and any financing, the expected use of proceeds from any financing, the expected timing for the launch of Phase 2a biomarker study on GRI-0621 and Phase 1 study on GRI-0803, the listing of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq, and the size and potential growth of current or future markets for the Company's products and services. Actual results may differ from the expectations, estimates and projections expressed by the Company herein and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including, without limitation: (1) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq, as applicable, following the merger; (2) the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the merger, which may be affected by, among other things, competition and the ability of the combined Company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (3) costs related to the merger agreement; (4) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (5) the inability of the combined Company to raise financing in the future; (6) the success, cost and timing of the Company’s product development activities; (7) the inability of the Company to obtain and maintain regulatory clearance or approval for their products, and any related restrictions and limitations of any cleared or approved product; (8) the inability of the Company to identify, in-license or acquire additional technology; (9) the inability of the Company to compete with other companies currently marketing or engaged in the development of products and services that the Company is currently developing; (10) the size and growth potential of the markets for the Company’s products and services, and its ability to serve those markets, either alone or in partnership with others; (11) inaccuracy in the combined company’s estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; (12) the Company’s financial performance; and (13) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s definitive proxy statement/prospectus/information statement relating to the merger (as supplemented), including those under the heading “Risk Factors” in the proxy statement/prospectus/information statement and in the Company’s other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.
Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
(833) 475-8247
GRI@jtcir.com
