HOPKINTON, Mass., Dec. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBPH), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of viral infections, inflammatory diseases and certain cancers, today announced it has appointed successful biopharmaceutical industry leader and veteran Scott Smith as Chairman of the Board, effective January 1, 2019. Mr. Smith will replace Martin Driscoll, Spring Bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer, as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Driscoll will continue to serve as a member of the Board and as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.
“As Spring Bank continues to grow and mature as a public company, now is an opportune time to elevate an independent director to the role of Chairman. I want to thank Marty for his tremendous leadership and years of service as Chairman of the Board. Under his leadership as Chairman, Spring Bank has become a publicly traded, clinical-stage company with sufficient capital to fund the company through major clinical data readouts for multiple product candidates. Based on the company’s progress to date, now is an opportune time to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO to enhance the governance for our shareholders and the strategic leadership of the company as it progresses forward with multiple opportunities,” stated Mr. Smith.
In addition to the elevation of Mr. Smith to the role of Chairman, Dr. Christiana Bardon has resigned as a member of the Board. Dr. Bardon added, “I appreciate the opportunity to have served as a director of Spring Bank. I fully support the company’s commitment to good corporate governance and the transition to a world class board of independent industry leaders. I remain an enthusiastic investor and am optimistic about the prospects and strategic direction of the company.”
“I want to thank Dr. Bardon for her valuable insights and significant contributions as a Spring Bank Board member,” commented Mr. Smith. “I look forward to assuming the role of Chairman of Spring Bank and working with the Board and the management team as the company continues to grow as a clinical -stage biopharmaceutical company with multiple therapeutic areas of interest.”
About Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals
Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of a novel class of therapeutics using its proprietary small molecule nucleotide platform. The company designs its compounds to selectively target and modulate the activity of specific proteins implicated in various disease states. The company’s lead product candidate, inarigivir, is being developed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). Inarigivir is designed to selectively activate within infected cells retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 (RIG-I), which has been shown to inhibit HBV viral replication and induce the intracellular interferon signaling pathways for antiviral defense. The company is also developing its lead STING agonist product candidate, SB 11285, an immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of selected cancers.
Contacts
Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jonathan Freve
Chief Financial Officer
(508) 473-5993
[email protected]
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
Ashley R. Robinson
(617) 535-7742
[email protected]
Source: Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals
