Vyant Bio Announces Newly Appointed Board of Directors
On April 5, 2021, Vyant Bio (Nasdaq: VYNT) announced the formation of a new Board of Directors with extensive experience in drug discovery and development. The board aims to drive innovation and growth, integrating its two subsidiaries, StemoniX and vivoPharm. The new members include industry leaders such as John Fletcher and Joanna Horobin, enhancing Vyant Bio's strategic direction. The company will hold an investor conference call on April 6, 2021, to discuss these developments further.
- Formation of a new Board of Directors with extensive experience in drug discovery and pharmaceuticals.
- Integration of two subsidiaries, StemoniX and vivoPharm, is expected to enhance drug discovery capabilities.
- New board members bring a diverse skill set and a strong track record, potentially benefiting shareholders.
- Concerns about continuity and potential experience gaps with the new board members.
CHERRY HILL, N.J., April 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vyant Bio, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: VYNT), is a new force in drug discovery, focused on integrating human-powered scientific and technology-based systems to de-risk and accelerate the discovery of therapeutics for biopharma partners as well as for the proprietary pipeline of the Company. Its newly formed Board of Directors comes from the disciplines of drug discovery and development, pharmaceuticals, and life science strategy and finance. The new board members bring decades of experience and leadership to help guide the Company in its focus on innovative and market leading drug discovery.
The Company is led in the executive suite by Jay Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Ping Yeh, Chief Innovation Officer and Andy LaFrence, Chief Financial Officer. Joining Mssrs. Roberts and Yeh on the newly formed board are:
John Fletcher, our Board Chair, bringing over 30 years of strategy and financing experience across the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries to the board. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Spaght, Inc., a consulting firm that provides growth-focused strategy assistance to client companies. Since 2001, Mr. Fletcher has also served as the Managing Partner of Fletcher Spaght Ventures, a venture capital fund. Mr. Fletcher is the Chair of Vyant Bio’s Board of Directors.
Joanna Horobin M.B., Ch.B., an accomplished drug developer and biotech leader with over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector. Dr. Horobin currently serves as the Chair of the Board of iOnctura SA, a privately-held oncology company and as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Kymera Therapeutics, Inc.(NASDAQ: KYMR), Nordic Nanovector ASA (Oslo: NANO), and Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LQDA). Dr. Horobin has held multiple C-suite roles in biotech companies in the US, most recently as the Chief Medical Officer at Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDRA) and was also the Chief Executive Officer of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDX).
Marcus F. Boehm, Ph.D. co-founded and is currently Chief Scientific Officer of Escient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, he was a Co-Founder of Receptos, Inc. where he served as Chief Technology Officer until its acquisition by Celgene Corporation. In 2001, Dr. Boehm was a founding member of Conforma Therapeutics Corporation, which was acquired by Biogen Idec. Dr. Boehm started his industry career with Ligand Pharmaceuticals in 1991 where he held various positions with progressing responsibility.
Geoffrey Harris is the managing partner of c7 Advisors (a money management and healthcare advisory firm). Prior to that, he served as a managing director and co-head of the healthcare investment banking group at Cantor Fitzgerald, and a similar position at Gleacher & Company. Mr. Harris is also currently on the board of directors of Telemynd, Inc. (formerly known as MYnd Analytics); PointRight Inc., and MoleSafe, Inc.
Howard McLeod, Pharm.D. is the Medical Director, Precision Medicine for the Geriatric Oncology Consortium and a Professor at the USF Taneja College of Pharmacy. Previously he was Chair of the Department of Individualized Cancer Management and Medical Director of the DeBartolo Family Personalized Medicine Institute at the Moffitt Cancer Center and previously a Senior Member of the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Division of Population Sciences. He also chaired the Department of Individualized Cancer Management at Moffitt. Prior to joining the Moffitt Cancer Center, Dr. McLeod was a Founding Director of the University of North Carolina Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy. Dr. McLeod also held the prestigious title of Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Paul Hansen has been a member of the Board of Directors of StemoniX since 2015. Since 2014, Mr. Hansen has served as a Senior Fellow with the University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute. Mr. Hansen is a founder and President of Minnepura Technologies, SBC. Mr. Hansen also held senior executive positions at 3M Company, including President and CEO of 3M Mexico.
“Each of the individuals selected to join our board is highly qualified and brings a unique perspective based on years of experience guiding innovation and creating tremendous value to shareholders. The board’s breadth and depth of knowledge will be an invaluable asset as Vyant Bio embarks on a new era in drug discovery,” stated Jay Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Vyant Bio.
“I am pleased that we could attract each of our new directors. At this point in Vyant Bio’s growth, the distinctive attributes of each of these new board members will provide direction and leadership to guide the Company through its next stage of growth and to achieve its goals,” stated Ping Yeh, Chief Innovation Officer of Vyant Bio.
As a reminder, Jay Roberts, Ping Yeh, and Andy LaFrence will be holding an investor conference call tomorrow, April 6, 2021. Please also visit the Investors’ section of the Vyant Bio web site for details on how to participate.
Event: Investor Webcast – Announcement of Vyant Bio
Date: Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Time: 4:30pm ET
Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/sxogu3xt
Dial In: (844) 954-2324 Conference ID: 9757240
A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available inside the Investors section of the Vyant Bio corporate website at www.vyantbio.com.
ABOUT VYANT BIO, INC.
Vyant Bio operates two wholly-owned subsidiaries, StemoniX and vivoPharm. The Company will immediately begin to execute on the integration of these two leading businesses, to converge human-powered scientific and technology-based systems and expertise with years of preclinical experience to de-risk and accelerate discovery and development of preclinical and clinical pipelines for biopharma partners as well as for the proprietary pipeline of the Company.
StemoniX is empowering the discovery of new medicines through the convergence of novel human biology and software technologies. StemoniX develops and manufactures high-density, at-scale human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived neural and cardiac screening platforms for drug discovery and development. Predictive, accurate, and consistent, these human models enable scientists to quickly and economically conduct research with improved outcomes in a simplified workflow. Through collaborations with drug discovery organizations, StemoniX tests compounds in-house, creates new cell-based disease models, and operationalizes custom human iPSC-derived disease models at large scale for high-throughput screening. With leading-edge iPSC technologies and data science, StemoniX is helping global institutions bring the most promising medicines to patients.
vivoPharm offers proprietary preclinical test systems supporting clinical diagnostic offerings at early stages valued by the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology companies, and academic research centers. vivoPharm is focused on precision and translational medicine to drive drug discovery and novel therapies. vivoPharm specializes in conducting studies tailored to guide drug development, starting from compound libraries and ending with a comprehensive set of in vitro and in vivo data and reports, as needed for Investigational New Drug filings. vivoPharm operates in The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) accredited and GLP compliant audited facilities.
For more information, please visit or follow Vyant Bio at:
Internet: www.vyantbio.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vyant-bio
Twitter: @VyantBio
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements pertaining to Vyant Bio, Inc.’s (formerly Cancer Genetics, Inc.) expectations regarding future financial and/or operating results, and potential for our services, future revenues or growth, in this press release constitute forward-looking statements.
Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to, statements that contain words such as “will,” “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” and “estimates”) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in our attempts to adapt to the global coronavirus pandemic, achieve profitability and increase sales of our pre-clinical services, maintain our existing customer base and avoid cancelation of customer contracts or discontinuance of trials, raise capital to meet our liquidity needs, realize the anticipated benefits of the merger with StemoniX, Inc., and other risks discussed in the Vyant Bio, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, along with other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Vyant Bio disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Investor Contacts:
Jennifer K. Zimmons. Ph.D.
Investor Relations
Zimmons International Communications, Inc.
Email: jzimmons@zimmonsic.com
Phone: +1.917.214.3514
Source: Vyant Bio, Inc.
###
FAQ
What significant changes were announced for Vyant Bio's leadership on April 5, 2021?
Who are the key members of the new Board of Directors at Vyant Bio?
What is the expected impact of the new board on Vyant Bio's future?
When is the investor conference call scheduled for Vyant Bio?
