MORRISVILLE, N.C., April 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novan, Inc. (“the Company” or “Novan”) (NASDAQ:NOVN) today announced that the Company has formed an Advisory Council comprised of key opinion leaders with broad expertise in dermatology. Novan has recruited these leading physicians based on their reputations as clinical experts to provide medical advice and drug-development insight to the Company’s senior leadership team and board of directors. The Advisory Council will be chaired by Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield, chief of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego, vice chair of the Department of Dermatology and professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
Dr. Eichenfield is an internationally recognized leader in dermatology, whose career has been devoted to improving the care of patients with skin disease. He has been directly involved in the development of novel topical acne, eczema and psoriasis products, and has an appreciation for the regulatory challenges in the development and launch of new chemical entities. He directs the largest pediatric dermatology clinical trials program in the country and holds leadership roles with key professional associations, making him a significant voice for innovation in dermatology.
“I am pleased to be joining and leading Novan’s new Advisory Council,” said Dr. Eichenfield. “The anti-infective and immunomodulatory effects of nitric oxide have long been documented in the literature. I believe Novan’s nitric oxide-releasing platform has the potential to deliver on the promise of nitric oxide, and I am happy to join my dermatology colleagues in advising this company in their pursuit of innovative treatment options for skin conditions with significant unmet need.”
“Our new Advisory Council has a deep appreciation for the potential of nitric oxide as an endogenous regulator of inflammation and broad-spectrum antimicrobial to treat skin diseases,” said Dr. M. Joyce Rico, board-certified dermatologist and Chief Medical Officer of Novan. “Novan is committed to developing and commercializing novel, first-in-class therapies from our nitric oxide-releasing platform. We believe this esteemed panel will enhance the strength of our current product-development programs and will bring both pragmatic and creative approaches to the discussion of novel opportunities across the Novan pipeline.”
The founding members of Novan’s Advisory Council, along with their respective therapeutic areas of expertise relevant to the Company’s development pipeline, are shown below.
| -- | Lawrence Eichenfield, M.D. | Chairman, Acne and Inflammatory Skin Diseases | |||||||
| -- | James Del Rosso, D.O. | Acne | |||||||
| -- | Diane Thiboutot, M.D. | Acne | |||||||
| -- | Ted Rosen, M.D. | Antiviral | |||||||
| -- | Brian Berman, M.D., Ph.D. | Antiviral | |||||||
| -- | Leon Kircik, M.D. | Antifungal | |||||||
| -- | Alan Menter, M.D. | Inflammatory Skin Diseases | |||||||
| -- | Lisa Beck, M.D. | Inflammatory Skin Diseases |
Detailed biographies for each of the members can be found at www.Novan.com/Company/Advisory-Council.
About Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield
Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield is chief of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego, vice chair of the Department of Dermatology and professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, or UCSD, School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, was a pediatric resident and chief resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and completed his dermatology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Eichenfield’s clinical interests include atopic dermatitis, acne, psoriasis, vascular lesions including port wine stains and hemangiomas, neonatal dermatology, laser surgery, nevi and skin signs of systemic disease. He has authored more than 300 journal articles, chapters, abstracts and books on these topics and has served as the senior editor of Neonatal and Infant Dermatology, published by Elsevier, as well as The Eczemas, published by Summit Communications. He is also editor-in-chief of Pediatric Dermatology and serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals and periodicals. In addition, Dr. Eichenfield has been honored as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society during medical school, as a recipient of the Benjamin Ritter Award at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and as a recipient of excellence in teaching awards from UCSD Pediatrics, UCSD Dermatology and Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego. He has been named one of the “Best Doctors in America” since 1994. Dr. Eichenfield is past president of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology, past board member of the American Academy of Dermatology as well as chair for the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Dr. Eichenfield is also a founding board member of the American Acne and Rosacea Society. He is a founder and co-chair of the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance, or PeDRA.
About Novan
Novan, Inc. is a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on redefining the standard of care in dermatology through the development and commercialization of innovative therapies using the Company’s nitric oxide-releasing platform. Nitric oxide plays a vital role in the natural immune system response against microbial pathogens and is a critical regulator of inflammation. Our ability to harness nitric oxide and its multiple mechanisms of action has enabled us to create a platform with the potential to generate differentiated, first-in-class product candidates. We are rapidly advancing programs in five dermatological conditions with significant unmet medical need. We believe that our ability to conveniently deploy nitric oxide on demand in topical formulations allows us the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes in a variety of skin diseases and positions us to be a commercially successful leader in the dermatology market.
For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.Novan.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements related to our Advisory Council, its leadership and its anticipated contributions to our development and commercialization efforts, pharmaceutical development of nitric oxide-releasing product candidates and future prospects of our business and our product candidates. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, including, but not limited to, uncertainties and risks in the clinical development process, including, among others, length, expense, ability to enroll patients, reliance on third parties, and that results of earlier research and preclinical or clinical trials may not be predictive of results, conclusions or interpretations of later research or trials; the lengthy and unpredictable nature of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process; whether we will be able to obtain additional funding when needed; and other risks and uncertainties described in our annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on Form 10-K for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2016, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Novan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as may be required by law.