HAMPTON, N.J., July 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLPH), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, today announced the appointments of Amit Agrawal as Chief Operating Officer, effective July 8, 2015, and Naseem Amin, M.D. as an Independent Director of the Company, effective June 29, 2015.
Mr. Agrawal joins Bellerophon from Amgen, Inc., where, since 2012, he served as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development. While at Amgen, Mr. Agrawal worked across several areas of the business covering Research and Development, Manufacturing Operations, Commercial planning and Business Development. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Agrawal worked at McKinsey and Company, primarily supporting Pharma industry clients on strategy, new product commercialization and business development.
Mr. Agrawal earned an M.Sc. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He was also a post-doctoral associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Agrawal is the author or co-author of more than 20 scientific papers and is a co-inventor on two patents related to methods of identifying biological targets and delivery of nanoparticles and/or agents to cells. He is also the recipient of a number of awards, among them the MIT-HARVARD CCNE Post-Doctoral Fellowship award.
Dr. Amin, who was also appointed to the Audit Committee, has broad industry experience in the Biotech and Medical Device industry. Until 2014, he was Chief Scientific Officer of Smith and Nephew Plc, where he provided scientific leadership to the organization. From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Amin was Senior Vice President, Business Development at Biogen Idec and from 1999 to 2005, was with Genzyme Corporation, most recently as Head, International Business Development. At both Biogen and Genzyme, Dr. Amin successfully initiated and executed a number of transformative acquisitions and transactions. He has also led the clinical development of five currently marketed therapeutic products. Dr. Amin began his career at Baxter Healthcare Corporation, where he served as Director, Medical Marketing and Portfolio Strategy, Renal Division.
Dr. Amin earned his medical degree from the Royal Free School of Medicine, London, and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. He is a Venture Partner at Advent Life Sciences, serves as an Advisory Board member for Imperial College, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and serves as Chairman of OPEN-London, a non-profit organization focused on encouraging and mentoring South Asians from Pakistan who are interested in starting entrepreneurial companies.
Commenting on today's announcement, Jonathan Peacock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bellerophon Therapeutics, noted, "We are very pleased to welcome Amit and Naseem to Bellerophon and look forward to their support as we continue to build the Company in the years ahead."
About Bellerophon
Bellerophon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on developing innovative therapies at the intersection of drugs and devices that address significant unmet medical needs in the treatment of cardiopulmonary and cardiac diseases. The Company has two programs in advanced clinical development. The first program, INOpulse®, is based on the Company's proprietary pulsatile nitric oxide delivery device. The Company is currently developing two product candidates under its INOpulse program: one for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), for which the Company intends to commence Phase 3 clinical trials in the second half of 2015, and the other for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD), which is in Phase 2 development. The Company's second program is bioabsorbable cardiac matrix (BCM), an injectable device for the prevention of cardiac remodeling and subsequent congestive heart failure following acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack. BCM is currently in a placebo-controlled clinical trial, expected to report top-line results in mid-2015, designed to support CE mark registration in the European Union and, assuming positive results, to provide the basis for an additional registration trial in the United States. Bellerophon has an exclusive worldwide license to BCM from BioLineRx Ltd. For more information, visit www.bellerophon.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Bellerophon's future expectations, plans and prospects constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Any forward-looking statements represent Bellerophon's views only as of the date of this press release. Bellerophon anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. While Bellerophon may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Bellerophon specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.