Stealth BioTherapeutics Announces New Appointments to its Board of Directors

BOSTON, Aug. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Stealth BioTherapeutics Inc. (Stealth), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to treat mitochondrial dysfunction, announced the appointment of three directors to its Board of Directors: Francis W. Chen, Kevin McLaughlin and Edward Owens. Stealth's Board of Directors now includes five members with extensive experience in biotechnology and business development.

"We are excited to welcome Francis, Kevin and Ed to our Board of Directors during this pivotal time for the Company as we continue to progress and expand our development programs in both rare diseases and common diseases of aging," said Reenie McCarthy, Stealth's chief executive officer. "With their combined industry experiences and keen business insights, we believe they will bring valuable perspectives as we grow as a leader in mitochondrial medicine."

Francis W. Chen is a co-founder and board member of SinoAmerican Partners Limited. Dr. Chen was formerly Vice Chairman at WI Harper Group and has over twenty years of senior management experience in the healthcare industry at Becton-Dickinson, Baxter Healthcare, Hygeia Sciences/Tambrands and Scotgen Biopharmaceuticals. He served as a trustee of the Burnham Institute, Groton School, San Francisco Opera Association and Stein Eriksen Lodge Owners' Association. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University.

Kevin McLaughlin has been the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Acceleron Pharma Inc. since 2010. Previously, Mr. McLaughlin served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Qteros, Inc. In 2007, he co-founded Aptius Education, Inc. where he served as the Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Prior to Aptius, Mr. McLaughlin spent 10 years at PRAECIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ultimately as President, CEO and a member of the Board of Directors where he led the company through private and strategic financings, its initial public offering and subsequent equity offering, and negotiated the sale of the company to GlaxoSmithKline. He began his career in senior financial roles at Prime Computer and Computervision Corporation where he worked for 16 years. He is also a member of the Vericel Corporation Board of Directors. Mr. McLaughlin holds a B.S. in Business from Northeastern University and an M.B.A. from Babson College.

Edward Owens is a retired Partner of Wellington Management Company LLP, where he worked for 38 years as a portfolio manager and global industry analyst. He was the founding portfolio manager of Vanguard Health Care Fund, which he managed from 1983 until his retirement at the end of 2012. During his tenure, the fund grew to be by far the largest industry sector fund in assets under management and had the best cumulative performance among all U.S. mutual funds. He serves on the Board of Directors of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Owens holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.  

About Stealth
We are a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutics for diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction. We believe there is a strong rationale for our lead product candidate, elamipretide, in indications in these diseases based on encouraging preclinical and early clinical data. We are investigating elamipretide in three primary mitochondrial diseases – primary mitochondrial myopathy (PMM), Barth syndrome and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) – as well as in heart failure, Fuchs' corneal dystrophy and dry age-related macular degeneration. We received Fast Track designation for elamipretide for the treatment of PMM from the FDA in December 2015. We are developing our second product candidate, SBT-20, for central nervous system disorders. Our mission is to be the leader in mitochondrial medicine. To learn more information about us and our pipeline, visit www.stealthbt.com.

Media Relations
dna Communications
Kate Contreras, 617-520-7088
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Investor Relations
Stern IR
Beth DelGiacco, 212-362-1200
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SOURCE Stealth BioTherapeutics