Celltaxis Names Co-Founder Eileen Heffernan as CEO to Accelerate Growth and Expand Leadership in Lymphatic Disease Therapeutics

Ms. Heffernan to advance Celltaxis' strategic partnering initiatives at BIO San Diego, being held June 22-25, 2026, in San Diego, California

ATLANTA, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Celltaxis, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel therapies for lymphatic diseases, today announced the promotion of Eileen Heffernan to Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Heffernan is a co-founder of Celltaxis and served as Chief Business Officer.

"Eileen has been a driving force behind Celltaxis since its founding and has played a critical role in shaping the Company, from corporate strategy and business development to financing and clinical advancement," said Eric Springman, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Celltaxis. "She has been instrumental in advancing our Phase 2 lymphedema program and expanding our vision for addressing other lymphatic diseases such as lipedema. Her leadership and unwavering commitment to patients is clearly illustrated by the key relationships she's developed within the lymphatic medical community and with the preeminent lymphatic disease patient advocacy group, the Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN). I look forward to continuing our work to establish Celltaxis as a leading company focused on developing much-needed therapies for lymphatic diseases."

Lymphatic diseases represent one of the largest underserved areas in medicine. The lymphatic system plays a vital role in maintaining fluid balance, regulating immune function, and clearing fat and cellular waste throughout the body. When lymphatic function is impaired, the chronic inflammatory disorder lymphedema develops, causing progressive swelling, reduced mobility, adipose deposition, and diminished quality of life. Lipedema, a related chronic inflammatory disorder, is similarly characterized by abnormal adipose deposition and predominantly affects women. Together, these conditions affect 250 million people worldwide, yet no FDA-approved pharmaceutical therapies exist, highlighting a substantial unmet need for innovative therapeutic approaches.

"The field of lymphatic medicine is approaching an important inflection point," said Ms. Heffernan. "Growing scientific insights into the mechanisms underlying lymphatic dysfunction, combined with the encouraging clinical findings we have generated in our Phase 2 program, reinforce our belief that meaningful therapeutic advances are possible. Our goal is to develop the first pharmaceutical therapies for lymphedema and lipedema and establish a new standard of care for patients who currently have no effective pharmaceutical treatment options."

Celltaxis' foundational drug product is a selective leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) inhibitor designed to promote lymphatic repair. In an exploratory Phase 2 study in patients with lower-extremity lymphedema, the small molecule therapeutic demonstrated encouraging improvements across multiple clinical measures, including reductions in limb volume and skin thickness as well as improvements in quality of life. Celltaxis is developing new chemical entity prodrug of this parent molecule designed to improve the drug's pharmacokinetics and impart additional patient benefits.

Ms. Heffernan added: "The clinical findings generated to date support our belief that targeting inflammation may help restore lymphatic function and improve patient outcomes. I look forward to working alongside our talented team, advisors and partners to advance our clinical programs, expand strategic collaborations, and establish Celltaxis as a leader in lymphatic disease therapeutics."

Ms. Heffernan brings more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience spanning corporate strategy, business development, licensing, and mergers and acquisitions. She has helped advance more than 20 regulated medical technologies and therapeutic programs and has led strategic transactions with leading healthcare organizations including SmithKline, Sanofi, Merck, and Pasteur Merieux.

About Celltaxis

Celltaxis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of pharmaceutical therapies targeting lymphatic dysfunction, with the goal of transforming the treatment paradigm for lymphedema, lipedema, and other lymphatic diseases, which affect many millions of patients worldwide. The Company's Phase 2 program is focused on a highly selective leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) inhibitor that facilitates lymphatic repair. Celltaxis is advancing a new chemical entity prodrug of this small molecule designed to improve the drug's pharmacokinetics and impart additional patient benefits. For more information, visit www.celltaxis.com.

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SOURCE Celltaxis