Peter Fernandes Named Vice President and Chief Regulatory Officer
HAMPTON, N.J., May 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bellerophon Therapeutics, LLC (Nasdaq:BLPH), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, today announced that it has further strengthened its management team with the addition of Peter Fernandes, as Vice President and Chief Regulatory Officer.
Jonathan Peacock, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bellerophon Therapeutics, noted, "We are delighted to have Peter join our team and look forward to his continued involvement in the growth of the company. Peter has significant regulatory experience in respiratory therapies and, in particular, with drug-device combination therapies. I am confident that his experience will be of great value as we advance our innovative cardiopulmonary and cardiac programs."
Prior to joining Bellerophon Mr. Fernandes was the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Ikaria, Inc. from October 2012 to May 2015. Previously, he led Regulatory Affairs for OptiNose, Inc. from 2010 to 2012 and was the Drug Regulatory Affairs Respiratory Franchise Head for Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG from 2007 to 2010. He also served as the Head of US Development and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Altana AG, a subsidiary of Nycomed, from 2005 to 2007 and he worked, from 1993 to 2005, at Boehringer Ingelheim where he headed the Respiratory and GI Drug Regulatory Affairs group. Mr. Fernandes has an M. Pharm. from the Grant Medical College and a B. Pharm. from the K.M. Kundnani College of Pharmacy, both at the University of Bombay in India.
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.
CONTACT: At Bellerophon:
Manesh Naidu, Chief Business Officer
(908) 574-4770
At Rx Communications Group:
Paula Schwartz (Investors)
(917) 322-2216
Eric Goldman (Media)
(917) 322-2563
egoldman@RxIR.com
Bellerophon Therapeutics LLC