Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer David Kalergis to Present at 37th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

Industry’s Largest Symposium Brings Over 9,000 Attendees to San Francisco


CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Jan. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: DFFN), a cutting-edge biotechnology company developing new treatments for life-threatening medical conditions by improving the body’s ability to bring oxygen to the areas where it’s needed most, announced today that Chief Executive Officer David Kalergis will join investors, executives, civic leaders, and scientists to present at the 37th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Monday, January 7, 2019 at 7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST. The Conference will be held on January 7-10, 2019 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California.

“Advancements in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical industries don’t happen in a vacuum; they require collaboration between investors, scientists, and business leaders,” said David Kalergis, Chairman and CEO of Diffusion. “Diffusion was founded in that same spirit of collaboration, and at the 37th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, we’ll have the opportunity to share our progress with an even larger audience of leaders who can potentially work with us to fuel life and fight deadly conditions such as cancer and stroke.”  

The “largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry,” the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference brings together “industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community.” Over 9,000 attendees and representatives from over 450 public and private companies have had the chance at past conferences to hear from speakers including Bill Gates, Vice President Joe Biden, and CEO of 23andMe Anne Wojcicki. To listen to Mr. Kalergis’s presentation live, you can go to the Investor Relations section of the Diffusion Pharmaceuticals website at www.diffusionpharma.com. An archived webcast of the presentation will also be available on the Company’s website for a period of time.

About Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company developing new treatments that improve the body’s ability to bring oxygen to the areas where it’s needed most—offering new hope for the treatment of life-threatening medical conditions.

Diffusion’s lead drug, Trans Sodium Crocinate (TSC), was originally developed in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research, which was seeking a way to treat hemorrhagic shock caused by massive blood loss on the battlefield. 

Evolutions in research have led to Diffusion’s focus today: Fueling Life by taking on some of medicine’s most intractable and difficult-to-treat diseases, including stroke, GBM brain cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain metastases. In each of these diseases, hypoxia—when essential tissue in your body is deprived of oxygen—has proved to be a significant obstacle for medical providers and the target for TSC’s novel mechanism.

In 2018, the Company began enrolling patients in its Phase 3 INTACT program, using TSC to target inoperable GBM brain cancer. Its on-ambulance Phase 2 acute stroke protocol was granted FDA clearance to proceed in September, 2018.  Additional pre-clinical data supports the potential use of TSC as a treatment for other conditions where hypoxia plays a major role, such as myocardial infarction, respiratory diseases such as COPD, peripheral artery disease, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In addition, RES-529, the Company’s PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor that dissociates the mTORC1 and mTORC2 complexes, is in the preclinical testing phase for GBM.

Diffusion is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia—a hub of advancement in the life science and biopharmaceutical industries and is led by CEO David Kalergis, a 30-year industry veteran and company co-founder. 

Forward-Looking Statements

To the extent any statements made in this news release deal with information that is not historical, these are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the company's plans, objectives, expectations  and intentions with respect to future operations and products, the potential of the company's technology and product candidates, the anticipated timing of future clinical trials, and other statements that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "would," "will," "plans," "possibility," "potential," "future," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "continue," "expects," other words of similar meaning, derivations of such words and the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Uncertainties and risks may cause the company's actual results to be materially different than those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Particular uncertainties and risks include: general business and economic conditions; the company's need for and ability to obtain additional financing or partnering arrangement; the difficulty of developing pharmaceutical products, obtaining regulatory and other approvals and achieving market acceptance; and the various risk factors (many of which are beyond Diffusion’s control) as described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Diffusion’s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release and are based on management's current beliefs and expectations. Diffusion undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Rob Corradi
Pen Public Affairs
rob@penpublicaffairs.com
410-212-5483