COUR Pharmaceuticals Appoints Dannielle Appelhans as Chief Operating Officer

CHICAGO, July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- COUR Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel immune-modifying nanoparticles designed to reprogram the immune system, today announced the appointment of Dannielle Appelhans as Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. In this role, Ms. Appelhans will oversee and execute the Company's research and development, technical development, technical operations, and quality as well as be a significant contributor to corporate strategy and other business operations.

"Dannielle's extensive leadership and cross-functional expertise across organizations ranging in size from large global commercial operations to biopharma startups presents an ideal background to lead and scale our internal operations capabilities while applying her wealth of experience into our long-term strategic planning to prepare COUR for late-stage clinical studies, commercialization and beyond," said John J. Puisis, Founder & CEO of COUR.  "Dannielle's operating experience will be pivotal in accelerating COUR's therapeutic programs and positioning COUR in becoming a world class leader in antigen-specific immune tolerance."

Ms. Appelhans served most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of Rubius Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded and clinical-phase biopharmaceutical company pioneering cellular medicines. She previously served as its Chief Operating Officer, where she oversaw corporate strategy, communications, quality, technical development, and operations. Since 2022, she has served on the Board of Directors and as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee for Generation Bio Co.. Prior to joining Rubius, she worked at Novartis and held roles of increasing responsibility in operations and strategy culminating in her serving as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Supply Chain across all divisions, and finally as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Technical Officer at Novartis Gene Therapies, where she oversaw late-stage development, clinical and commercial manufacturing, supply chain and all supporting operational functions for the gene therapy unit. Before joining Novartis, Ms. Appelhans was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, working in the pharmaceutical operations practice. Earlier in her career she held roles of increasing responsibility at Eli Lilly and Company.

"COUR represents an ideal opportunity to apply my relevant skill-set at an important inflection point in the Company's evolution in bringing two promising, proprietary autoimmune programs to treat Myasthenia Gravis and type 1 diabetes into human proof-of-concept studies in the near-term," said Dannielle Appelhans, incoming Chief Operating Officer at COUR Pharmaceuticals. "I am genuinely excited to collaborate with the exceptional team at COUR as we collectively work to fulfill the transformative potential of COUR's nanoparticle technology in bringing disease-modifying, first-in-class therapies to market for patients and significantly advance the science of immune tolerance."

Ms. Appelhans earned a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Engineering, an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

About COUR Pharmaceuticals

COUR Pharmaceuticals is developing first-in-class therapies designed to reprogram the immune system to achieve antigen-specific tolerance for immune-mediated disease. COUR's platform of immune-modifying nanoparticles focuses on treating the root cause of immune disease, unlike traditional approaches, which only minimize symptoms using toxic immune suppression. COUR's lead product for celiac disease, partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, is the first demonstration of induction of antigen-specific immune tolerance in any autoimmune disease. Data from clinical and preclinical settings demonstrate the potential opportunity for the COUR nanoparticle platform to address a wide range of immune and inflammatory conditions. The underlying technology was acquired from Northwestern University and draws from more than 30 years of research in immune tolerance. For more information, please visit www.courpharma.com.

Investor Relations & Media Contact

Brian C. Bock
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]

SOURCE COUR Pharmaceuticals