Full Press Release Details
Akari Therapeutics Announces the Appointment of Accomplished Biotech
Executive Melissa Bradford-Klug as Chief Operating Officer to Lead Business Development and Company Growth Strategies
NEW YORK and LONDON, June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akari Therapeutics,
Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biotechnology company focused on developing advanced therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,
today announced the appointment of Melissa Bradford-Klug as Chief Operating Officer, effective July 1, 2022. In this position, she will
lead business development, including financing and partnering strategies, acceleration of prioritized nomacopan late-stage and preclinical
development programs, as well as other business operations. Ms. Klug has more than 25 years of experience as a leader within companies
ranging from large global healthcare organizations to biotech startups. She has a strong track record of developing and executing capital
markets strategies for private and public companies, as well as experience in operations management and corporate and business development.
"We are very pleased to have an accomplished executive of Melissa's
caliber at Akari to lead our business development and bold growth strategies as we accelerate two nomacopan late-stage clinical trials
in bullous pemphigoid and pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant-related thrombotic microangiopathy, as well as preclinical work
on PAS-nomacopan in geographic atrophy," said Rachelle Jacques, President and CEO of Akari Therapeutics. "Melissa's
background and capabilities in business development and operations put our company in a strong position to fully realize the promise and
value of our pipeline on behalf of investors, patients and other stakeholders."
Prior to joining Akari Therapeutics, Ms. Klug was President and Chief
Business Officer at RareStone Group, where she led identification and execution of strategic transactions for rare disease development
programs for the China market. As co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the women's health startup, Mayfield Pharmaceuticals
(now Harrow Health), she created the company's strategy, secured funding, drove clinical development and oversaw operations. Ms.
Klug has a strong track record of successful fundraising, global acquisitions, licensing, and development collaborations. She has held
senior strategy and corporate/business development roles at Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt and Baxter International.
She also has held commercial and research and development positions at Eli Lilly and Company and Monsanto. Ms. Klug is a member of the
MassBio Board of Directors and Gender Diversity Committee and is a MassConnect mentor. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry
from Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri and an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
"It is an exciting time to be joining the Akari team as the company
advances its lead asset, nomacopan, toward pivotal clinical trials and potential regulatory filings in the U.S. and Europe," said
Melissa Bradford-Klug. "I was attracted to Akari because of the significant opportunities for company growth and value creation,
and the possibility of delivering life-changing treatment options for patients with significant unmet needs."
About Akari Therapeutics
Akari Therapeutics, plc (Nasdaq: AKTX) is a biotechnology company focused
on developing advanced therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Akari's lead asset, investigational nomacopan, is a bispecific
recombinant inhibitor of C5 complement activation and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) activity. The Akari pipeline includes two late-stage
programs for bullous pemphigoid (BP) and thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), as well as earlier stage research and development programs
in eye and lung diseases with significant unmet need. For more information about Akari, please visit akaritx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect
our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available
to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected
in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations
or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties for our company
include, but are not limited to: needs for additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to continue as a going concern; uncertainties
of cash flows and inability to meet working capital needs; an inability or delay in obtaining required regulatory approvals for nomacopan
and any other product candidates, which may result in unexpected cost expenditures; our ability to obtain orphan drug designation in additional
indications; risks inherent in drug development in general; uncertainties in obtaining successful clinical results for nomacopan and any
other product candidates and unexpected costs that may result there; difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials; failure to
realize any value of nomacopan and any other product candidates developed and being developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties
involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market; inability to develop new product candidates and support existing product
candidates; the approval by the FDA and EMA and any other similar foreign regulatory authorities of other competing or superior products
brought to market; risks resulting from unforeseen side effects; risk that the market for nomacopan may not be as large as expected risks
associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; inability to obtain, maintain and enforce patents and other intellectual property
rights or the unexpected costs associated with such enforcement or litigation; inability to obtain and maintain commercial manufacturing
arrangements with third party manufacturers or establish commercial scale manufacturing capabilities; the inability to timely source adequate
supply of our active pharmaceutical ingredients from third party manufacturers on whom the company depends; unexpected cost increases
and pricing pressures and risks and other risk factors detailed in our public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements to reflect
events or circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release.
For more information