ViaCyte Appoints Dr. Evert Kroon as Interim Chief Scientific Officer

SAN DIEGO, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCyte, Inc., a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company focused on developing cell therapies that provide a functional cure for patients with diabetes, announced today the appointment of  ViaCyte's current Vice President of Translation Research Evert Kroon, PhD, to serve as interim Chief Scientific Officer following the departure of CSO Kevin D'Amour, PhD.  Dr. D'Amour will resign effective June 25, 2021, to pursue other opportunities. The Company has already initiated a search for a successor.

Serving as interim CSO, Dr. Kroon brings 18 years of experience at the Company in scientific and leadership roles with deep expertise in ViaCyte's technologies. Most recently as Vice President of Translation Research, he has been a key part of progressing ViaCyte's cell replacement therapies from discovery through pre-clinical studies and into the clinic. With two phase II clinical programs and a third program entering the clinic late this year, ViaCyte continues to advance its clinical programs for type 1 diabetes, as well as its innovative science to optimize its medicines and progress into new disease areas. 

"Kevin's commitment and leadership in advancing the best science have helped us build the broadest, most advanced cell replacement portfolio for type 1 diabetes and position ViaCyte as the first company to apply this stem cell-based approach in human clinical trials," said Michael Yang, President and Chief Executive Officer of ViaCyte. "We sincerely thank Kevin for playing an integral role in helping the team achieve our scientific goals and wish him the very best in his new endeavors."

Dr. D'Amour will continue to consult with the Company as a special advisor. The Company remains on track to meet its operational milestones and focused on executing its mission of achieving a functional cure for type 1 diabetes.

About ViaCyte
ViaCyte is a privately held regenerative medicine company developing novel cell replacement therapies based on two major technological advances: cell replacement therapies derived from pluripotent stem cells and medical device systems for cell encapsulation and implantation. ViaCyte has the opportunity to use these technologies to address critical human diseases and disorders that can potentially be treated by replacing lost or malfunctioning cells or proteins. The Company's first product candidates are being developed as potential long-term treatments for patients with type 1 diabetes to achieve glucose control targets and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia and diabetes-related complications. To accelerate and expand the Company's efforts, ViaCyte has established collaborative partnerships with leading companies, including CRISPR Therapeutics and W.L. Gore & Associates. ViaCyte is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, please visit www.viacyte.com and connect with ViaCyte on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE ViaCyte, Inc.

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