Humanigen Appoints Edward P. Jordan as Chief Commercial Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Humanigen, Inc. (OTCQB:HGEN) has appointed Edward P. Jordan as Chief Commercial Officer to facilitate the potential Emergency Use Authorization of lenzilumab. Jordan, who has over 20 years in commercial operations, previously served at DBV Technologies, where he prepared for a pediatric biologic launch. His expertise in sales, marketing, and operations is expected to enhance Humanigen's commercialization strategies, particularly for COVID-19 treatment. The company aims to leverage GM-CSF neutralization technology to address severe complications from SARS-CoV-2.

Positive

• Appointment of Edward P. Jordan as Chief Commercial Officer to strengthen commercialization efforts.
• Jordan's extensive experience in launching biopharmaceuticals enhances company leadership at a critical time.
• Focus on lenzilumab could lead to potential Emergency Use Authorization, impacting revenue positively.

Negative

• Potential risks associated with the Emergency Use Authorization process.
• Dependence on lenzilumab's success in a competitive market raises concerns about long-term sustainability.

• Mr. Jordan to build commercial infrastructure in advance of potential Emergency Use Authorization of lenzilumab

BURLINGAME, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 24, 2020 / Humanigen, Inc., (OTCQB:HGEN) ("Humanigen"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on preventing and treating an immune hyper-response called ‘cytokine storm' with lenzilumab, the company's proprietary Humaneered^® anti-human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) monoclonal antibody, today announced the appointment of Edward P. Jordan, MBA, to Chief Commercial Officer, a new role that will report to Dr. Cameron Durrant, Chief Executive Officer of Humanigen, effective immediately.

Mr. Jordan has more than two decades of commercial operations experience at leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, having launched over a dozen products and developed new therapeutic markets in the U.S. and abroad. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of DBV Technologies, where he built the North American commercial organization in preparation for the launch of a lifesaving pediatric biologic. Prior to DBV Technologies, Mr. Jordan held senior executive roles at AMAG Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Jordan began his career at Schering-Plough, prior to the acquisition by Merck, and spent 18 years in sales and marketing leadership positions. Mr. Jordan received dual undergraduate degrees from The University of Rhode Island and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.

"We have been actively planning for launch as we develop our lead drug candidate, lenzilumab, for COVID-19. Ed's long tenure in senior commercial leadership roles, coupled with his track record of building cross-functional teams to achieve significant objectives in highly competitive markets, make him ideally suited to further strengthen Humanigen's commercialization plans," said Dr. Durrant. "Ed has demonstrated success in executive leadership, sales, marketing, managed markets, business development, international and domestic operations, finance, and joint venture partnerships, all of which will be valuable to Humanigen's strategic long-term domestic and global growth."

Mr. Jordan said, "I'm thrilled to join the Humanigen team at such a pivotal point as we work to bring lenzilumab to market during these difficult and unprecedented times. Having recently lost my father to a COVID-19 related condition, overseeing the potential commercialization of lenzilumab has special meaning to me and I'm steadfast in my commitment to get lenzilumab into the hands of professionals for the treatment of COVID-19 and other life-threatening conditions."

About Humanigen, Inc.
Humanigen, Inc. is developing its portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical therapies for the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases via its novel, cutting-edge GM-CSF neutralization and gene-knockout platforms. We believe that our GM-CSF neutralization and gene-editing platform technologies have the potential to reduce the inflammatory cascade associated with coronavirus infection. The company's immediate focus is to prevent or minimize the cytokine release syndrome that precedes severe lung dysfunction and ARDS in serious cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The company is also focused on creating next-generation combinatory gene-edited CAR-T therapies using strategies to improve efficacy while employing GM-CSF gene knockout technologies to control toxicity. In addition, the company is developing its own portfolio of proprietary first-in-class EphA3-CAR-T for various solid cancers and EMR1-CAR-T for various eosinophilic disorders. The company is also exploring the effectiveness of its GM-CSF neutralization technologies (either through the use of lenzilumab as a neutralizing antibody or through GM-CSF gene knockout) in combination with other CAR-T, bispecific or natural killer (NK) T cell engaging immunotherapy treatments to break the efficacy/toxicity linkage, including to prevent and/or treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Additionally, Humanigen and Kite, a Gilead Company, are evaluating lenzilumab in combination with Yescarta^® (axicabtagene ciloleucel) in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma in a clinical collaboration. For more information, visit www.humanigen.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and you should be aware that actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "will," "expect," "intend," "plan," "potential," "possible," "goals," "accelerate," "continue," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations surrounding the possibility that lenzilumab will receive Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 patients from the FDA in 2020, statements regarding the company's ability to commence commercialization activities subsequent to receipt of such authorization, and our statements regarding the intended purposes and effectiveness of lenzilumab and other technologies in our current pipeline. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks inherent in our lack of profitability and need for additional capital to conduct the Phase III study and grow our business; our dependence on partners to further the development of our product candidates; the uncertainties inherent in the development and launch of any new pharmaceutical product; the outcome of pending or future litigation; and the various risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" sections and elsewhere in the Company's periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

CONTACT:
Media
Sean Leous
Westwicke, an ICR company
sean.leous@westwicke.com
646-866-4012

Investors
Victoria Meissner, MD
Westwicke, an ICR company
victoria.meissner@westwicke.com
646-677-1837

SOURCE: Humanigen, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/602818/Humanigen-Appoints-Edward-P-Jordan-as-Chief-Commercial-Officer

FAQ

Who is Edward P. Jordan at Humanigen?

Edward P. Jordan is the newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Humanigen, tasked with advancing the commercialization of lenzilumab.

What is Humanigen's primary product under development?

Humanigen is focused on lenzilumab, a monoclonal antibody aimed at treating severe responses in COVID-19 patients.

How does lenzilumab aim to help COVID-19 patients?

Lenzilumab is designed to neutralize GM-CSF, potentially preventing cytokine storm and severe lung complications in COVID-19.

What experience does Edward P. Jordan bring to Humanigen?

Jordan has over 20 years of experience in commercial operations and has successfully launched multiple biopharmaceutical products.

When was Edward P. Jordan appointed at Humanigen?

Edward P. Jordan was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer effective immediately on August 24, 2020.