KNOW Bio strengthens leadership with the addition of four new Board Members

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KNOW Bio, LLC, an innovative life science company committed to improving and extending people's lives, today announced the addition of Haywood Cochrane, Phil Hodges, Harry Smith, and Anne Whitaker to its Board of Managers.

"We are delighted that these four experienced and capable leaders have agreed to join our Board," said Chairman, Neal Hunter. "We look forward to working collaboratively with them to enhance value for all KNOW Bio shareholders."

Hunter added, "As KNOW Bio grows, we are committed to strengthening the management team as demonstrated by the recent appointment of Anne Whitaker as the CEO and President, John Oakley as the CFO, and Dr. Mark Schoenfisch as the Chief Scientific Officer of the Company.  Anne, John and Mark have demonstrated their leadership and collaborative style in successfully establishing our first wholly owned biopharmaceutical subsidiary, Novoclem Therapeutics, Inc. Together they make an incredibly dynamic and powerful executive leadership team for KNOW Bio and Novoclem."

KNOW Bio, LLC New Board Members

Haywood Cochrane - Mr. Cochrane is a seasoned industry executive with over 30 years of healthcare, laboratory and diagnostics industry experience in executive and senior management positions. Currently, he is the elected Chair of the Board of Trustees for UNC Chapel Hill.  He is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors of DARA Biosciences.  He began his career in banking and moved into healthcare where he specialized in being part of a team that rebuilt and grew a number of public and private companies-with the support of venture capital and private equity partners-to create jobs and build long-term shareholder value.  He has held senior management and executive positions at companies such as Allied Clinical Laboratories, Roche Biomedical Laboratories, National Health Laboratories, LabCorp, and CHD Meridian Corporate Healthcare, now a unit of Walgreens.  He has served as director of I-trax Health Management Solutions, Allied Clinical Laboratories, Tripath Imaging, EV3, American Esoterics, JDN Realty, Sonus Corp., Unilab, and Ameripath, as well as other private companies.   

Phil Hodges - Mr. Hodges is a pharmaceutical industry veteran with a significant depth of experience in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.  He currently is a Chairman of Kaio Therapy, Chesson Laboratory Associates, and RFPi, and a Director of Mayne Pharma Group. Phil began his pharmaceutical career at Burroughs Wellcome Company in Greenville as an analytical chemist.  In 1994, he transitioned from Glaxo Wellcome to start Metrics, a contract analytical laboratory serving the pharmaceutical industry.  Phil led Metrics through the addition of formulations development and clinical batch manufacturing services.  Building a state-of-the-art facility in 2000, Metrics completed its evolution to a contract pharmaceutical development company. In 2004, Metrics added Coastal Pharmaceuticals as a generic drug development company.  After Metrics was purchased by Mayne Pharma Group in November of 2012, Phil remained President until December of 2013.  

Harry L. Smith, Jr. - Mr. Smith is an experienced serial entrepreneur known for his strong leadership and business turn-around capabilities focused on creating jobs and local economic development.  He served as the CEO of Flanders Corporation for eight years where he led the company out of bankruptcy to profitability with > $30 million EBITDA.  Harry was the Founder and Owner of National Warehouse Leasing and the Co-founder of OakRidge Metals.  He joined the startup company Pronamics, which created over 300 jobs in Wilson and Washington, NC.  

He is currently a co-owner of Pitt Electric, purchased in bankruptcy and successfully driven to profitability.  Harry is the elected Vice Chair of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors where he serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, as well as the Strategic Initiatives Committee.

Anne Whitaker - Ms. Whitaker has over 26 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with a reputation and proven track record of visionary leadership, turning around businesses, and leading teams to deliver exceptional business results.  Anne is a global and multicultural executive who has successfully driven business strategy and growth across multiple continents.  In 2012 and 2013, she was recognized by Fierce Pharma as one of the top 25 Most Influential People in BioPharma, and in 2014 as one of the top 25 Most Influential Women in BioPharma. 

Currently, Anne is CEO and President of Novoclem Therapeutics. She previously held senior executive leadership roles at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Synta Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, and GlaxoSmithKline. She serves on the boards of Cree, KNOW Bio, and Novoclem Therapeutics. She previously served on Synta Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors.

About KNOW Bio LLC
KNOW Bio is a life science company committed to improving and extending people's lives by advancing the development and commercialization of its drug and device pipeline through wholly or majority owned subsidiary companies.  Each of the subsidiaries is focused on specific therapeutic applications where nitric oxide can provide a meaningful health benefit.

About Novoclem Therapeutics, Inc.
Novoclem Therapeutics, a subsidiary of KNOW Bio, is an innovative, preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on helping people who suffer from severe respiratory diseases to breath better and live life more fully. It is focused on developing a nitric oxide based treatment for people living with cystic fibrosis and infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The company anticipates submitting an Investigational New Drug application and initiating First in Human clinical trials in 2018. More info available at www.novoclem.com.   

Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements.  Actual results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in the forward-looking statements.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: risks associated with the drug development process; reliance on key personnel; the early stage of our business; competition; and other risks described in other Company press releases and presentations.  KNOW Bio and Novoclem Therapeutics assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Media Contact:
Darlene Dendy
1-919-270-5789
[email protected]

SOURCE KNOW Bio, LLC

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