Armata Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Clinical Team with Appointment of Dr. Heather Dale Jones as Medical Director
Appointment reinforces Armata's commitment to develop Pseudomonas phage product candidates
MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: ARMP) ("Armata"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on precisely targeted bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced the appointment of Heather Dale Jones, M.D. as its first Medical Director, further strengthening Armata's clinical team as the company prepares to initiate clinical testing of its lead bacteriophage product candidates. Dr. Jones brings to the Armata team more than 20 years of experience in clinical research and medical practice.
"As we prepare to advance our lead Pseudomonas aeruginosa therapeutic candidate, AP-PA02, into clinical trials next year, we are pleased to welcome Heather to the team and look forward to her contributions to what we expect will be a very efficient development plan," said Todd R. Patrick, Chief Executive Officer of Armata. "Pseudomonas aeruginosa is becoming increasingly resistant to currently available antibiotics, and the addition of Heather as our very first Medical Director reinforces our commitment to developing therapeutics to combat this dangerous pathogen. We look forward to filing for regulatory approval to commence human trials in early 2020."
Dr. Jones is a practicing pulmonary and critical care specialist and physician researcher, previously serving as Director of the Lung Imaging Program, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She also served as Associate Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai, as well as Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her research interests include acute lung injury in critically ill patients and novel lung imaging techniques. Dr. Jones has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, delivered numerous invited presentations and received private and government grants. She received her Doctor of Medicine, Magna Cum Laude, from the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University and her BA in Molecular and Cell Biology with Honors from the University of California, Berkley.
"Dr. Jones will continue to serve as a part-time intensivist in her clinical practice, which we believe will enable us to keep our finger on the pulse of how clinicians are dealing with life-threatening multidrug resistant infections and other real-time issues that impact medical care. She will be invaluable as we examine how best to study our phage product candidates in respiratory and other clinical settings," added Mr. Patrick.
About Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Armata is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of precisely targeted bacteriophage therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections using its proprietary bacteriophage-based technology. Armata is developing and advancing a broad pipeline of natural and synthetic phage candidates, including clinical candidates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and other pathogens. In addition, in collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, Armata is developing proprietary synthetic phage candidates to target an undisclosed infectious disease agent. Armata is committed to advancing phage with drug development expertise that spans bench to clinic including in-house phage-specific GMP manufacturing.
Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains "forward-looking" statements, including, without limitation, statements related to the timing and results of clinical trials, including the anticipated initiation of clinical trials of AP-PA02 and AP-SA02, Armata's ability to expand testing of isolates from around the world and the results of those tests, Armata's ability to develop new products based on bacteriophages and synthetic phages, and Armata's expectations for performance of Armata's therapeutic candidates based on Armata's recent nonclinical work. Any statements contained in this communication that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Armata's current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Armata's actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to ability of Armata's lead clinical candidates, AP-PA02 and AP-SA02, to be more effective than previous candidates; Armata's ability to expedite development of AP-PA02; Armata's ability to advance its preclinical and clinical programs and the uncertain and time-consuming regulatory approval process; Armata's ability to develop products based on bacteriophages and synthetic phages to kill bacterial pathogens; Armata's expected market opportunity for its products; and Armata's ability to sufficiently fund its operations as expected, including obtaining additional funding as needed.
Additional risks and uncertainties relating to Armata and its business can be found under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Armata's filings and reports with the SEC, including in Armata's Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 4, 2019, as amended, Armata's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 25, 2019, and Armata's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on August 14, 2019 and May 6, 2019. Armata expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Armata's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
Media Contacts:
At Armata:
Steve Martin
Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[email protected]
(858) 800-2492
Investor Relations:
Joyce Allaire
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
[email protected]
212-915-2569
SOURCE Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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