Dr. Olivier Litzka has resigned from the Board, effective June 13, 2024
RADNOR, Pa., June 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mineralys Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLYS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines to target hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other diseases driven by dysregulated aldosterone, today announced that Alexander M. Gold, M.D. has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors (the Board), effective June 13, 2024.
“We are delighted to welcome Alex to our Board of Directors as we advance the late-stage clinical development of lorundrostat for the treatment of hypertension and related cardiorenal metabolic disorders,” stated Jon Congleton, Chief Executive Officer of Mineralys. “As a cardiologist and accomplished biopharmaceutical clinical development executive, Alex brings tremendous experience driving value for biopharmaceutical companies. We believe Alex’s track record of successful pipeline development, regulatory approvals, and joint ventures will make him be a valuable director and resource for the Company’s team.”
“I am honored to join the Mineralys Board of Directors,” stated Dr. Gold. “I look forward to working with the Company’s executive team and fellow Board members to advance the treatment of cardiorenal metabolic disorders. There is significant potential with lorundrostat in offering a targeted treatment approach for hypertension and other diseases driven by dysregulated aldosterone.”
Dr. Gold is a cardiologist with more than 20 years of experience leading the development, approval, and commercialization of new therapies. He has held executive positions at several biopharmaceutical companies that targeted numerous therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic, renal, and inflammation. Currently, Dr. Gold is the Chief Medical Officer of a clinical-stage biotech company. Prior to his current role, he held the role of Head Medical Officer at Sanifit-CSL. He originally joined as Chief Medical Officer and President of Sanifit Inc. in 2017, which was then acquired by Vifor Pharma in January 2022 and subsequently by CSL Ltd. in August 2022. Prior to Sanifit, Dr. Gold held the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development at Portola Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Portola Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Gold was Head of Clinical Development at Reata Pharmaceuticals. For 11 years he held multiple leadership positions at AstraZeneca, including the Executive Director and Development Leader for BRILINTA, CRESTOR and ONGLYZA. Dr. Gold is currently an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Gold completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School in Boston and conducted translational and clinical research as a fellow in cardiovascular research at the Harvard Clinical Research Institute and was a Scholar in Clinical Science. Dr. Gold received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his B.A in Biology from Brandeis University.
In addition, the Company announced the resignation of Olivier Litzka, Ph.D. from its Board, effective June 13, 2024.
Dr. Litzka stated: “It was an honor for me to serve on the Mineralys Board since the Company’s final private financing round prior to the initial public offering. The Company has shown tremendous progress, which is due to its exceptionally talented and hard working team. As a venture capital investor, I’ve decided to step down in order to make room for new, well-suited board members like Alex Gold to support the Company going forward. I wish Mineralys all the best on its path forward.”
“The Board and I would like to express our collective gratitude to Olivier for his contributions and dedication to the Board. We wish him future success as he turns his attention to other venture investments at Andera Partners,” stated Mr. Congleton.
About Lorundrostat Lorundrostat is a proprietary, orally administered, highly selective aldosterone synthase inhibitor being developed for the treatment of uncontrolled hypertension and CKD. Lorundrostat was designed to reduce aldosterone levels by inhibiting CYP11B2, the enzyme responsible for its production. Lorundrostat has 374-fold selectivity for aldosterone-synthase inhibition versus cortisol-synthase inhibition in vitro, an observed half-life of 10-12 hours and demonstrated approximately a 70% reduction in plasma aldosterone concentration in hypertensive subjects.
In a Phase 2, proof-of-concept trial (Target-HTN) in uncontrolled or resistant hypertensive subjects, once-daily lorundrostat demonstrated clinically meaningful blood pressure reduction in individuals with uncontrolled hypertension, in both automated office blood pressure measurement and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Adverse events observed were a modest increase in serum potassium, decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinary tract infection and hypertension with one serious adverse event possibly related to study drug being hyponatremia.
About Mineralys Therapeutics Mineralys Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines to target hypertension, CKD and other diseases driven by dysregulated aldosterone. Its initial product candidate, lorundrostat, is a proprietary, orally administered, highly selective aldosterone synthase inhibitor that Mineralys Therapeutics is developing for cardiorenal conditions affected by dysregulated aldosterone, including hypertension and CKD. Mineralys is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and was founded by Catalys Pacific. For more information, please visit https://mineralystx.com. Follow Mineralys on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Forward Looking Statements
Mineralys Therapeutics cautions you that statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential therapeutic benefits of lorundrostat. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: our future performance is dependent entirely on the success of lorundrostat; potential delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials and nonclinical studies; later developments with the FDA may be inconsistent with the feedback from the completed end of Phase 2 meeting, including whether the proposed pivotal program will support registration of lorundrostat which is a review issue with the FDA upon submission of an NDA; our dependence on third parties in connection with manufacturing, research and clinical and nonclinical testing; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate efficacy of lorundrostat that may limit its development, regulatory approval and/or commercialization; unfavorable results from clinical trials and nonclinical studies; results of prior clinical trials and studies of lorundrostat are not necessarily predictive of future results; our reliance on our exclusive license with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma to provide us with intellectual property rights to develop and commercialize lorundrostat; and other risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K, and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
