• Dr. Golenbock is The Neil and Margery Blacklow Chair in Infectious Diseases and Immunology and Professor and Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the UMass Chan Medical School
• Inflammasome ASC Inhibitor IC 100 is a differentiated humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody designed to inhibit formation of multiple types of inflammasomes and disrupt the structure and function of ASC Specks to control initiation and perpetuation of damaging inflammation associated with numerous diseases

WESTON, Fla., April 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZVSA; “ZyVersa”), a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drugs for treatment of patients with renal and inflammatory diseases who have unmet medical needs, announces that internationally recognized authority in the field of innate immunity, Dr. Douglas Golenbock, has joined ZyVersa’s Inflammatory Disease Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Golenbock is a physician-scientist who has spent much of his career developing therapeutic interventions for important human diseases. He has made substantial contributions to the investigation of innate immune mechanisms in human cells. His major interests are in the mechanisms of inflammation, such as NLRP3-related inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease, the role of the innate immune response in gonococcal infections, nucleic acid recognition in both bacterial infections and malaria, and epigenetics related to malaria infection. His laboratory was one of the first in the world to study Toll receptors.

Dr. Golenbock has nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications, many in high-impact journals, and over 81,000 citations. He has received continuous funding from the NIH for over 30 years and has been a recipient of an NIH MERIT Award. He is an elected member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and has received the Sheldon E. Greisman Award from the International Endotoxin & Innate Immune Society, an award that is given to an investigator who has made substantial and original contributions which have led to an increased understanding of the interactions between microorganisms and innate immunity. Dr. Golenbock has been an organizer and chair of the international Toll meetings that have become the major specialty scientific meeting in his field, and he is a founding and current co-chair of the annual Innate Immunity Day scientific symposium on the campus of UMass Chan Medical School.

Dr. Golenbock earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, and his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin. He also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in biochemistry in the laboratory of Christian R.H. Raetz at the University of Wisconsin and Merck Research Laboratories in New Jersey.

“We are honored that Dr. Golenbock, an established leader in the field of innate immunity, specifically in the field of Toll-like receptors in infection and inflammation, is joining our Inflammatory Disease Scientific Advisory Board,” stated Stephen C. Glover, ZyVersa’s Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman. “We look forward to his invaluable insights and contributions as we advance our clinical development program for Inflammasome ASC Inhibitor IC 100.”

Dr. Golenbock joins ZyVersa’s current team of prominent Scientific Advisors:

• Daniel G. Baker, MD: Former Vice President, Immunology Research and Development, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
• Miguel S. Barbosa, PhD: Former Global Head and Vice President of Immunology Research and External Innovation at Janssen Research & Development, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
• William F. Bennett, PhD: Principal, Bioscope Associates; formerly Genentech, Sensus Corporation, and Cor Therapeutics
• Helen Bramlett, PhD: Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• W. Dalton Dietrich, III, PhD: Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery, and Scientific Director at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Senior Associate Dean for Discovery Science and Co-Director of the Institute for Neural Engineering, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Professor, Neurological Surgery, Neurology, Biomedical Engineering, and Cell Biology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• Juan Pablo de Rivero Vaccari, PhD: Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery and The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Distinguished Faculty Member of The Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
• Douglas H. Farrar: CEO, Flatirons Biotech, Inc.; former Cofounder and Chief Technical Officer, Coherus Biosciences
• Alan Herman, PhD: Chairman Emeritus, former Chief Scientific Officer at Coherus BioSciences; formerly Genentech, Amgen, and Merck
• Robert W. Keane, PhD: Professor, Physiology and Biophysics, Neurological Surgery and Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

About Inflammasome ASC Inhibitor IC 100

IC 100 is a novel humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that inhibits the inflammasome adaptor protein ASC. IC 100 attenuates both initiation and perpetuation of the inflammatory response. It does so by binding to a specific region of the ASC component of multiple types of inflammasomes, including NLRP1, NLRP2, NLRP3, NLRC4, AIM2, and Pyrin. Intracellularly, IC 100 binds to ASC monomers, inhibiting inflammasome formation, thereby blocking activation of IL-1β early in the inflammatory cascade. IC 100 also binds to ASC Specks, both intracellularly and extracellularly, further blocking activation of IL-1β and the perpetuation of the inflammatory response that is pathogenic in inflammatory diseases. Because active cytokines amplify adaptive immunity through various mechanisms, IC 100, by attenuating cytokine activation, also attenuates the adaptive immune response.

About ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc.

ZyVersa (Nasdaq: ZVSA) is a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company leveraging advanced, proprietary technologies to develop first-in-class drugs for patients with renal and inflammatory diseases who have significant unmet medical needs. The Company is currently advancing a therapeutic development pipeline with multiple programs built around its two proprietary technologies – Cholesterol Efflux Mediator™ VAR 200 developed to ameliorate renal lipid accumulation that damages the kidneys' filtration system in patients with glomerular kidney diseases, and Inflammasome ASC Inhibitor IC 100, targeting damaging inflammation associated with numerous CNS and other inflammatory diseases. For more information, please visit www.zyversa.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations, or forecasts for the future, and, therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc (“ZyVersa”) uses words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “projects,” “future,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “guidance,” and similar expressions to identify these forward-looking statements that are intended to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions. Such forward-looking statements are based on ZyVersa’s expectations and involve risks and uncertainties; consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the statements due to a number of factors, including ZyVersa’s plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates, the timing of initiation of ZyVersa’s planned preclinical and clinical trials; the timing of the availability of data from ZyVersa’s preclinical and clinical trials; the timing of any planned investigational new drug application or new drug application; ZyVersa’s plans to research, develop, and commercialize its current and future product candidates; the clinical utility, potential benefits and market acceptance of ZyVersa’s product candidates; ZyVersa’s commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; ZyVersa’s ability to protect its intellectual property position; and ZyVersa’s estimates regarding future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and need for additional financing.

New factors emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for ZyVersa to predict all such factors, nor can ZyVersa assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to ZyVersa as of the date of this press release. ZyVersa disclaims any obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.

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