HCW Biologics Announces Appointment of Two New Members to Board of Directors

MIRAMAR, Fla., Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCW Biologics Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HCWB), an innovative, biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies to lengthen health span by disrupting the link between chronic, low-grade inflammation and age-related diseases, today announced the appointment of two new independent directors, Lisa M. Giles and Gary M. Winer, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The appointments expand the Company’s Board to five members, four of whom are independent directors.

“Adding individuals with Lisa’s and Gary’s extensive talents and corporate experience in the life sciences industry is an important achievement for our Company and stockholders that we believe will contribute greatly to our long-term success,” said Hing C. Wong, Ph.D., founder and CEO of HCW Biologics. “Gary and Lisa have long, successful careers building life sciences businesses and serving in senior management roles. On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to welcome them to HCW Biologics and look forward to benefitting from their knowledge and expertise.”

Ms. Giles and Mr. Winer will both serve on the Board’s audit committee, chaired by Rick S. Greene, and the Board’s compensation committee, chaired by Scott T. Garrett. Dr. Wong will step down from the audit committee but remain a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Garrett will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Ms. Giles commented, “Under Dr. Wong’s leadership, HCW stands at the vanguard in the development of a new generation of immunotherapeutics that address the age-related disorders associated with chronic inflammation. The Company’s recent initial public offering and the expected advancement of its lead drug candidate, HCW9218, into clinical trials are exciting opportunities for patients and HCW’s growth, one that could deliver significant stockholder value. I look forward to working with Dr. Wong, the leadership team and the other Board members as HCW advances its clinical development portfolio.”

Mr. Winer commented, “I am eager to work with Dr. Wong and the other Board members to help HCW Biologics achieve its full potential. As the Company continues to advance the development of its lead drug candidates, HCW9218 and HCW9302, I expect stockholders and patients to have the opportunity to benefit from important therapeutic advancements that could change the treatment of age-related disorders. I look forward to providing guidance to the Company based on my experience working with multinational pharmaceutical companies if and when the Company is ready to strike strategic collaborations and co-development deals.”

About Lisa M. Giles:

Lisa M. Giles founded Giles & Associates Consultancy, Inc. (GAC) to serve the life sciences industry and academic medical centers since 2000. She is the firm’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Her career has spanned more than 35 years in the pharmaceutical, diagnostic, medical device, and healthcare industries and included extensive experience in enterprise strategic planning, and R&D and commercial planning. Ms. Giles has also served on the Boards of Directors of several public companies. She currently serves as an independent director on the Board of Directors for Milestone Pharmaceuticals (MIST) and the Northwestern Memorial Health System Foundation Board. Previously, she served on the Boards of Directors for GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) from 2015 to 2021; Durata Therapeutics, Inc. from 2012 to 2014; and Intranasal Therapeutics, Inc. from 2005 to 2006. Ms. Giles also founded Optivara, Inc., a sister company to GAC, and served as Chief Executive Officer from 2013 to 2019. Prior to founding GAC, Ms. Giles held the position of Vice President of Strategy Development for G.D. Searle Pharmaceuticals, a division of Monsanto, and served in various leadership roles with Abbott Laboratories. Ms. Giles received a B.S. from Juniata College and completed executive management programs at Stanford University and the University of Chicago.

About Gary M. Winer:

As a consultant at DRC Health Care Advisors since 2015, Gary M. Winer has advised biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic companies on business strategy, product and portfolio planning and commercialization in international markets. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ORGENTEC Diagnostika GmbH, a private equity-owned specialty manufacturer of autoimmune and infectious disease diagnostic tests, from April 2019 until the sale of the company in September 2021 to Sebia. Mr. Winer held a number of senior leadership positions at Abbott and the company’s biotechnology spinoff, AbbVie, from 2003 to 2014. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Global Commercial Strategies at AbbVie (April 2014 to January 2015) and President and Chief Executive Officer of AbbVie Japan (January 2013 to April 2014). Before AbbVie’s separation from Abbott, Mr. Winer served as Divisional Vice President for the company’s Latin America and Canadian diagnostic business unit, Divisional Vice President for U.S. Commercial Operations, and Corporate Vice President and President at Abbott Japan. Mr. Winer currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Lensar, Inc. and other private healthcare companies. Mr. Winer received a B.S. in Finance from California State University and earned an M.B.A. from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

About the TOBI™ platform:

HCW Biologics has combined deep understanding of disease-related immunology with its expertise in advanced protein engineering to develop the TOBI™ discovery platform. The TOBI™ platform is a proprietary immunotherapeutic drug design and discovery platform. HCW has utilized this modular, tunable technology to generate a novel pipeline of immunotherapeutic candidates capable of activating and targeting desired immune responses while blocking unwanted immunosuppressive activities. The balancing of these two activities is believed to be the key to developing immunotherapeutic agents that will be safe, well tolerated and efficacious.

About HCW Biologics:

HCW Biologics is a transformative immunotherapy company that focuses on inflammaging, a state of unresolved inflammatory responses and chronic inflammation. The Company is developing novel immunotherapies designed to improve health by disrupting the link between chronic, low-grade inflammation and age-related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases. HCW uses its TOBI™ discovery platform to generate designer, novel multi-functional fusion molecules with immunotherapeutic properties for the treatment of inflammaging. Two of HCW Biologics lead inventions via the TOBI™ platform include molecules HCW9218 and HCW9302, both currently undergoing IND-enabling studies.

Forward Looking Statements:

Statements in this press release contain “forward-looking statements” that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” “forecast” or other similar words and include, without limitation, statements regarding immunotherapeutic candidates capable of activating and targeting desired immune responses while blocking unwanted immunosuppressive activities; expected advancement of the Company’s lead drug candidate HCW9218 into clinical trials and the anticipated related delivery of significant near-term and longer-range shareholder value; the opportunity to benefit from important therapeutic advancements that could change the treatment of age-related disorders; and the Company potentially entering into strategic collaborations and co-development deals to further its clinical development. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties that are described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the final prospectus related to the Company’s initial public offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 21, 2021 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 13, 2021. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.