Full Press Release Details
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Appoints Dr. Jonathan
Schapiro MD and Dr. Dobroslav Melamed to
the Board of Directors to Help Lead Development of its Clinical Assets
HERZLIYA, Israel - December 08, 2014 - XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB, TASE: XTL) ("XTL" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of unmet clinical
needs, announced today that the Board of Directors has appointed two new members, Dr. Jonathan Schapiro and Dr. Dobroslav Melamed.
Josh Levine, Chief Executive Officer of XTL, stated, "Both
new Directors bring a wealth of experience in the clinical development of pharmaceutical products and will contribute significantly
to the Company's efforts to develop and capitalize on its two lead programs: hCDR1 for the treatment of SLE (lupus) and EPO
for the treatment of multiple myeloma."
Dr. Jonathan Schapiro, 54, is currently an Adjunct Clinical
Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University
School of Medicine and a Director of HIV/AIDS at the National Hemophilia Center at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel. He
has served as a committee member on the United States Food and Drug Administration Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee and is a
member of the World Health Organization Global HIV Drug Resistance Network Steering Group. Dr. Schapiro is on the organizing and
scientific committee of international conferences on antiviral drug development, clinical pharmacology and resistance, as well
as contributing to guidelines publications. His research has appeared in major journals such as Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine.
He has served on the scientific advisory boards of major pharmaceutical and molecular diagnostic companies and has been involved
in the development of multiple antiviral drugs over the last 20 years.
Dr. Schapiro has devoted his career to HIV clinical care, research
and education since completing his Fellowship in Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine,
Stanford CA. He graduated from the Ben Gurion University School of Medicine and completed his Medical Residency at the Rabin Medical
"I am very excited to be joining the Board of XTL and
helping develop their hCDR1 asset which has shown some encouraging safety and preliminary efficacy data in previous clinical trials"
he said. "Safe and efficacious drugs remain an important unmet medical need for the large numbers of patients suffering from
SLE worldwide. Preclinical as well as clinical data generated thus far suggest this asset is one of the most promising treatments
for lupus at this stage of development"
Dr. Dobroslav Melamed, 37, is a biotech entrepreneur with over
10 years of experience in the life science industry. He has demonstrated success in taking drugs from the lab to the shelf by
identifying target markets, planning regulatory strategy, raising capital, executing successful clinical trials and scaling up
to commercial production. He is currently establishing two companies involved in the development of a treatment for Ebola and
novel drug delivery. Until September 2014, he was the President of SciVac (formerly SciGen IL), a high growth biopharmaceutical
company that develops, manufactures and markets recombinant human health care biotechnology derived products, including vaccines.
Dr. Melamed was responsible for SciVac's operations, clinical trials and new business.
Dr. Melamed is the co-founder of Periness LTD, a developer of
new drugs for male infertility and Oshadi LTD, a developer of oral carriers for proteins like insulin. He has also been a researcher
at Bar-Ilan University's Male Fertility clinic, where he assisted in the development of new drugs for male infertility; and
QBI, where he worked in the Pre-clinical and Research Pharmacology Department establishing In Vivo models for drug discovery and
Melamed earned a PhD in Biotechnology and a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Biotechnology from the Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
"I believe that XTL's clinical assets offer a unique
opportunity to treat significant unmet medical needs in lupus and multiple myeloma" stated Dr. Melamed. "I look forward
to being involved in successfully developing these assets together with the XTL Bio management team."
About XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. ("XTL")
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical
products for the treatment of unmet clinical needs. XTL is focused on late stage clinical development of drugs for the treatment
of lupus and multiple myeloma.
is a public company traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market (NASDAQ: XTLB) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: XTL). XTL shares
are included in the following indices: Tel-Aviv Biomed, Tel-Aviv MidCap, and Tel-Aviv Tech Index.
of the statements included in this press release may be forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.
For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please see the risk factors associated with an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares which are
included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2014.
Goldberger / Garth Russell
Strategic Communications
212-896-1249 / 212-896-1250