Lycera Announces the Appointment of Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., to the Board of Directors

NEW YORK and ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lycera Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough immune modulatory medicines, announced today that Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., has been elected to the Company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Company also announced that Timothy M. Mayleben will step down from his position on Lycera's Board.

"Pablo brings to our Board an acclaimed track record in drug R&D, having played a key role in the development and commercialization of several life-changing medicines for people with cancer and other debilitating diseases," said Paul Sekhri, President and CEO of Lycera. "We believe both his experience as a clinician and his deep operational expertise will have a profound impact as we continue to advance our pipeline of innovative clinical-stage candidates. Pablo's breadth of clinical development experience and his comprehensive understanding of the regulatory process are just two reasons why I am thrilled to have him join our Board at this pivotal and exciting time for Lycera."

Mr. Sekhri added, "As we welcome Pablo to the Board, we would also like to offer our sincere gratitude to Tim Mayleben for his years of dedicated service. Tim's contributions have been important to Lycera in advancing our two novel programs in the clinic, entering into a strategic alliance with Celgene, and creating a world-class team focused on discovering and developing new therapies in autoimmune disease and immuno-oncology."

Dr. Cagnoni, throughout his 25-year career as an oncologist and biopharmaceutical executive, has played a key role in the development, approval, and/or commercialization of several life-changing medicines including Afinitor®, Blincyto®, Exjade®, Folotyn®, Glivec®, Jakavi®, Kyprolis®, Signifor®, Tarceva®, Tasigna®, and Zykadia®. Dr. Cagnoni is President and Chief Executive Officer of Tizona Therapeutics, an immunology company that is harnessing the power of the immune system to develop treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Prior to this role, he served as President of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Amgen, where he was directly responsible for the Onyx portfolio from early product development through commercialization. Previously, Dr. Cagnoni served in executive global development roles at Novartis Oncology, Allos Therapeutics (acquired by Spectrum Pharmaceuticals), and OSI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Astellas). He is also a Director of CRISPR Therapeutics and Harpoon Therapeutics. Dr. Cagnoni earned his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine, and completed his fellowships in Hematology and Oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and in stem cell transplantation at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Before joining the biopharma industry, he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Bone Marrow Transplant Program.

"Lycera has built a world-class R&D engine with an innovative, clinical-stage pipeline that is addressing some of the most pressing needs in cancer and autoimmune diseases today," said Dr. Cagnoni. "Joining the Board of Directors and working alongside the impressive team at Lycera is an incredible opportunity to help accelerate the Company's broad pipeline."

About Lycera

Lycera is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel oral immune modulators for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. Based on successful progress of its world-class R&D platform, including expertise in immune metabolism, cell signaling, and immune cell differentiation, Lycera commenced multiple clinical programs in 2016. The company is advancing a wholly owned, oral, gut-directed ATPase modulator, designated LYC-30937-EC, for the treatment of autoimmune disease, and has entered Phase 2 clinical studies in patients with ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. A second product candidate, LYC-55716, an oral RORgamma agonist, has progressed into Phase 1/2a testing in patients with advanced solid tumors. Lycera has an exclusive strategic collaboration with Celgene Corporation to advance Lycera's proprietary pipeline for cancer and immune-mediated diseases. In addition, Lycera had previously established collaborations with Merck to discover, develop, and commercialize small molecule therapies for autoimmune disorders.

Lycera's leadership possesses deep experience in drug discovery, development, and commercialization and has established close relationships with renowned thought leaders and clinical researchers worldwide. Lycera was founded in 2006 based on an initial scientific platform in-licensed from the University of Michigan. Lead investors in Lycera include InterWest Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Clarus Ventures, and EDF Ventures.

CONTACT: Justin Jackson, Burns McClellan, 212-213-0006, ext. 327, [email protected]

SOURCE Lycera Corp.

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