INOVIO Announces the Appointment of Michael Cordera As Executive Vice President & General Counsel
INOVIO (NASDAQ:INO) has appointed Michael Cordera as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective March 15, 2021. Reporting directly to CEO Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Cordera will oversee the legal team's strategy. He brings extensive life sciences experience from his previous role at Eagle Pharmaceuticals and has held various legal positions internationally. This leadership change comes as INOVIO advances its development of DNA medicines targeting infectious diseases and cancer, with 15 clinical programs currently underway.
- The appointment of Michael Cordera brings significant legal expertise, particularly in life sciences, which could strengthen INOVIO's strategic development.
- Cordera's previous experience in global business development may help INOVIO enhance its commercial operations.
- Potential concerns about continuity and expertise in legal strategy during the transition period.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., March 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- INOVIO (NASDAQ:INO), a biotechnology company focused on bringing to market precisely designed DNA medicines to treat and protect people from infectious diseases and cancer, today announced the appointment of Michael Cordera as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Cordera will serve on the company's executive leadership team and will report to INOVIO's President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. J. Joseph Kim. In this role, he will be responsible for the company's legal team and strategy.
Dr. J. Joseph Kim, INOVIO's President and CEO, said, "Michael is a seasoned legal executive with deep life sciences experience both in the US and abroad. His expertise surrounding commercial operations and global business development come at a key time for our organization. He will be a valuable leader as INOVIO executes on its plans to develop and commercialize DNA medicines to treat infectious diseases, cancer, and HPV-associated diseases."
Mr. Cordera joins INOVIO from Eagle Pharmaceuticals, where he served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Before Eagle, Michael held various legal positions of increasing responsibility at Warner Chilcot and inVentiv (now Syneos) Health where he was responsible for legal affairs in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Cordera began his legal career as an Associate at Sherman & Sterling, LLP. He holds a J.D. from the Rutgers School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the American University of Paris.
About INOVIO's DNA Medicines Platform
INOVIO has 15 DNA medicine clinical programs currently in development focused on HPV-associated diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases, including coronaviruses associated with COVID-19 and MERS, for which programs are being developed with funding support from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). DNA medicines are composed of optimized DNA plasmids, which are small circles of double-stranded DNA that are synthesized or reorganized by a computer sequencing technology and designed to produce a specific immune response in the body.
INOVIO's DNA medicines deliver optimized plasmids directly into cells intramuscularly or intradermally using INOVIO's proprietary hand-held smart device called CELLECTRA®. The CELLECTRA® device uses a brief electrical pulse to reversibly open small pores in the cell to allow the plasmids to enter, overcoming a key limitation of other DNA and other nucleic acid approaches, such as mRNA. Once inside the cell, the DNA plasmids enable the cell to produce the targeted antigen. The antigen is processed naturally in the cell and triggers the desired T cell and antibody-mediated immune responses. Administration with the CELLECTRA® device is designed to ensure that the DNA medicine is efficiently delivered directly into the body's cells, where it can go to work to drive an immune response. INOVIO's DNA medicines do not interfere with or change in any way an individual's own DNA. The advantages of INOVIO's DNA medicine platform are how fast DNA medicines can be designed and manufactured; the stability of the products, which do not require freezing in storage and transport; and the robust immune response, safety profile, and tolerability that have been observed in clinical trials.
With more than 3,000 patients receiving INOVIO investigational DNA medicines in more than 7,000 applications across a range of clinical trials, INOVIO has a strong track record of rapidly generating DNA medicine candidates with potential to meet urgent global health needs.
About INOVIO
INOVIO is a biotechnology company focused on rapidly bringing to market precisely designed DNA medicines to treat and protect people from infectious diseases, cancer, and diseases associated with HPV. INOVIO is the first and only company to have clinically demonstrated that a DNA medicine can be delivered directly into cells in the body via a proprietary smart device to produce a robust and tolerable immune response. INOVIO's lead immunotherapy candidate, VGX-3100, currently in Phase 3 trials for precancerous cervical dysplasia, cleared high-risk HPV-16 and/or HPV-18 in a Phase 2b clinical trial. High-risk HPV is responsible for
CONTACTS:
Media: Jeff Richardson, 267-440-4211, jrichardson@inovio.com
Investors: Ben Matone, 484-362-0076, ben.matone@inovio.com
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop and commercialize DNA medicines. There can be no assurance that any product candidate in our pipeline will be successfully developed, manufactured or commercialized, that final results of clinical trials will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market products, or that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.
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SOURCE INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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