Aridis Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Board of Directors with Former Wyeth (now Pfizer) President of R&D Robert Ruffolo, Jr.

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary technologies to produce novel therapies for infectious diseases, announced today that it has appointed seasoned pharmaceutical executive Robert Ruffolo, Jr., Ph.D., D.Sc.(h), D.Eng.(h), F.C.P.P., to its Board of Directors.  Dr. Ruffolo is the retired President of Research and Development at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now Pfizer), and retired Corporate Senior Vice President of Wyeth. He has also held senior leadership roles at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline or 'GSK') and Lilly Research Laboratories. Dr. Ruffolo brings substantial drug discovery and development expertise to Aridis.

Eric Patzer, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board for Aridis, stated, "We are gratified to have Bob join our Board as we continue to advance our novel antibody therapies to combat life-threatening infectious diseases.  His insights, based on decades of experience in leading drug development at several of the world's most successful pharmaceutical companies, will undoubtedly help Aridis maximize the value of our current pipeline and future programs."

Dr. Ruffolo commented, "I look forward to joining Aridis to help guide the R&D strategy, and particularly to advance the Company's innovative anti-infective monoclonal antibody candidates through clinical testing and eventual registration as efficiently as possible.  As Aridis approaches several clinical milestones, the coming months should be a period of rapid growth for the company, and I am eager to leverage my expertise to augment those efforts."

At Wyeth, Dr. Ruffolo managed an R&D organization of 9,000 scientists with an annual budget in excess of $3 billion.  Prior to Wyeth, Dr. Ruffolo spent 17 years at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline) where he was Senior Vice President and Director of Biological Sciences, Worldwide. Before joining SmithKline Beecham, Dr. Ruffolo spent 6 years at Lilly Research Laboratories where he was Chairman of the Cardiovascular Research Committee. During his pharmaceutical career, Dr. Ruffolo played a significant role in the discovery and/or development of a number of marketed products. Dr. Ruffolo has authored nearly 500 full-length publications, over 200 abstracts and has edited 17 books, and has served on the editorial boards of 28 international scientific journals. Dr. Ruffolo and his wife, Stephany, established the Ruffolo Charitable Fund and have used the proceeds to support many charities, humanitarian projects and educational programs throughout the World.  He also sits on the Boards of Directors for several promising Biotechnology companies as well as a number of non-profit charitable organizations.

The Aridis Board was last expanded to include Isaac Blech, a very successful serial biotech entrepreneur who founded Celgene, ICOS, Nova Pharmaceutical, Pathogenesis and Genetics Systems.

About Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aridis is a privately held biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary monoclonal antibody discovery technology MabIgX™ to produce novel infectious disease focused therapies.  Aridis' product pipeline includes AR-101 (Aerumab™) anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa LPS human monoclonal antibody; AR-301 (Salvecin™) anti-Staphylococcus aureus human monoclonal antibody to treat acute pneumonia; Aerucin™, a broadly reactive anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa human monoclonal antibody initially being developed to treat acute pneumonia; Panaecin™, a small molecule anti-infective gallium compound with broad spectrum activities against bacteria, viruses, and fungi; AR-401 anti-Acinetobacter baumannii human monoclonal antibody; and AR-201 anti-RSV human monoclonal antibody.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the therapeutic applications of Aerumab™ (AR-101), Salvecin™ (AR-301), Aerucin™, Panaecin™, AR-401, AR-201, Aridis' proprietary formulation and delivery technologies, about Aridis' strategy, pre-clinical and clinical programs, and ability to identify and develop drugs, as well as other statements that are not historical facts. Actual events or results may differ materially from Aridis' expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the timing, success and cost of Aridis' research and clinical studies and its ability to obtain additional financing.  These forward-looking statements represent Aridis' judgment as of the date of this release. Aridis disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Joshua Drumm, Ph.D. (investors)
[email protected]
(212) 375-2664

Andrew Mielach (media)
[email protected]
(212) 375-2694

SOURCE Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.