Nexera Welcomes Two New Board Members

Francisca Emmaus MD MPH and Martins Becko MBA appointed to Nexera’s board of directors

Appointments bolster Nexera board’s medical and financial expertise, particularly in the United States

TORONTO and CHICAGO, Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nexera Pharmaceuticals (Nexera) (TSX: MDP) (OTCQX: MEDXF) is pleased to welcome Francisca Emmaus MD MPH, Chief Medical Officer of ViiV Healthcare, and Martins Becko MBA, former executive at Pfizer and Viatris, to the Nexera board of directors.

“We are very pleased to welcome Harmony and Menassie, two experienced professionals whose skills, experience, and expertise will serve to diversify and supplement those of the current members of our board,” commented Chamberlain Gravel, Chair of the Compensation, Corporate Governance, and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors.

Ashok Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Nexera, added, “We are thrilled to have Harmony and Menassie join our board. As we continue to evaluate new opportunities to grow our business, strengthening our team remains a priority. Harmony’s significant experience leading medical affairs and medical regulatory matters and Menassie’s strong management experience and expertise in corporate finance will undoubtedly be assets as we grow our business organically and engage in new business and corporate development initiatives.”

Dr Emmaus and Mr Taddese were elected to fill two newly created directorships with effect as of February 6, 2023 and will initially serve until the next annual meeting of Nexera shareholders. For more information about the Nexera board of directors, see the Governance section of Nexera’s corporate website.

About Dr Emmaus and Mr Taddese

Francisca Emmaus MD MPH brings 18 years of multinational pharmaceutical leadership experience in the United States and the UK to the Nexera board. Dr Emmaus has served as Chief Medical Officer of ViiV Healthcare since August 2019. In this role, Dr Emmaus is accountable for all aspects of human safety and medical governance and for the global medical affairs strategy and execution for the company. Dr Emmaus joined ViiV Healthcare in 2016 after spending over a decade at GSK in various leadership roles across R&D, pharmacovigilance, and medical affairs. During her career, Dr Emmaus has provided medical leadership for over a dozen new drug applications and new product launches.

Martins Becko MBA is a seasoned veteran of the biopharmaceutical industry with wide ranging experience in general management, finance, business transformation, partnership creation, and overall leadership. He brings over 26 years of experience leading large commercial and cross-functional organizations across the globe to the Nexera board.

About Nexera

Nexera is a leader in innovative and rare disease treatment solutions with a strong North American commercial platform and a portfolio of proven best-in-class products. Our current focus is on the therapeutic areas of hematology, auto-immune diseases, and allergy. We continue to build a highly differentiated company with a growing portfolio of innovative and high-value orphan and rare disease products that will underpin our growth for the next decade.

Our current leading products are IXINITY®, an intravenous recombinant factor IX therapeutic for use in patients 12 years of age or older with Hemophilia B (a hereditary bleeding disorder characterized by a deficiency of clotting factor IX in the blood, which is necessary to control bleeding); Rasuvo® and Metoject®, a unique formulation of methotrexate (auto-pen and pre-filled syringe) designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other auto-immune diseases; Rupall®, an innovative prescription allergy medication with a unique mode of action; and Gleolan® (aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride or ALA HCl), an FDA-approved, orphan drug designated optical imaging agent currently indicated in patients with glioma (suspected World Health Organization Grades III or IV on preoperative imaging) as an adjunct for the visualization of malignant tissue during surgery.

We have also licensed treosulfan, part of a preparative regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to be used in combination with fludarabine, for commercialization in the United States and Canada. Treosulfan was approved by Health Canada in June 2021 and is marketed in Canada as Trecondyv™. Treosulfan is currently the subject of a regulatory review process with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Our mission is to provide the best healthcare products to healthcare professionals and patients. We strive to deliver on this mission by acting on our core values: Quality, Innovation, Customer Service, and Collaboration.

Contacts

For more information, please contact any of the following:

Nexera

Ashok Kumar, Chief Executive Officer
Nexera Pharmaceuticals
Tel: +18733007637
Email: ashok.kumar@nexerapharmaceuticals.com

Marcel Konrad, Chief Financial Officer
Nexera Pharmaceuticals
Tel: 312-548-3139
Email: marcel.konrad@nexerapharmaceuticals.com

Investor Relations

Victoria Rutherford
Adelaide Capital
Tel: T: +1 (873) 300 7637
Email: invest@nexerapharmaceuticals.com

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements made in this press release contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (forward-looking statements). The words “anticipates”, “believes”, “expects”, “will”, “plans”, “potential”, and similar words, phrases, or expressions are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words, phrases, or expressions. Specific forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Nexera’s business strategy or outlook and future growth plans and the expected tenure and contributions of Nexera’s directors. These statements are based on factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including assumptions based on historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments. Since forward-looking statements relate to future events and conditions, by their very nature they require making assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Nexera cautions that although it is believed that the assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, these risks and uncertainties give rise to the possibility that actual results may differ materially from the expectations set out in the forward-looking statements. Material risk factors include, but are not limited to, those set out in Nexera’s materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to time, including Nexera’s most recent annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis. Given these risks, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this news release. Other than as specifically required by law, Nexera undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise.

Released February 6, 2023