Juventas Therapeutics Strengthens Management Team with New Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations

CLEVELAND, Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Juventas Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage company developing novel regenerative therapies for treatment of cardiovascular disease announced today that Troy Ignelzi has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations. Troy brings 20 years in finance, operations, and business development experience with start-up and established life sciences companies.

Mr. Ignelzi joins Juventas from YES Pharmaceuticals where he was Sr. Vice President of Business Development. In addition to global business development, he was responsible for financing engagements and provided strategic guidance to multiple clients' SEC filings and subsequent successful IPOs. Prior to YES, Mr. Ignelzi held executive management positions at Esperion Therapeutics and Insys Therapeutics where he transitioned both organizations from early stage start-up through mid-stage publicly traded companies. He has helped raise over $200 million through both private placements and IPOs and provided operational leadership to advance their therapeutic platforms through key clinical development milestones.   

Juventas' lead product, JVS-100, is non-viral gene therapy that activates endogenous stem-cell based repair pathways. Earlier this year, the company reported interim top-line data from its Phase II STOP-HF trial, which demonstrated that JVS-100 significantly improved cardiac remodeling and function in patients with advanced ischemic heart failure.

"We are thrilled that Troy will be joining the Juventas team," states Rahul Aras, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "He brings extensive senior management experience from similarly staged biotechnology companies and will be a key contributor to the future success of Juventas."

"I'm excited to join Juventas at this transformational time," states Mr. Ignelzi. "The company has made great progress in the clinic and I look forward to working with the management team to advance JVS-100 through its next stages of clinical development toward commercialization."

About Juventas Therapeutics
Juventas Therapeutics, headquartered in Cleveland, OH, is a privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel gene therapy to activate natural repair pathways. Founded in 2007 with an exclusive license from Cleveland Clinic, Juventas has transitioned its therapeutic platform from concept through mid-stage clinical trials for treatment of heart failure and critical limb ischemia.  Investors include Triathlon Medical Ventures, New Science Ventures, Takeda Ventures, Venture Investors, Early Stage Partners, Fletcher Spaght Ventures, Reservoir Venture Partners, Glengary, The Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, Tri-State Growth Fund, North Coast Angel Fund, X Gen Ltd., JumpStart Inc., and Blue Chip Venture Co. The company has received non-dilutive grant support through the Ohio Third Frontier-funded Cleveland Clinic Ohio BioValidation Fund, Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center and Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine.

Contact: Joe Barone, 216.273.4000, [email protected], website: www.juventasinc.com

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SOURCE Juventas Therapeutics

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