• New appointments bring expertise and proven leadership to ZyVersa to support advancement and development of VAR 200 for renal disease, and IC 100 for inflammatory diseases

WESTON, Fla., Jan. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZVSA, or "ZyVersa"), a clinical- stage specialty biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drugs for treatment of renal and inflammatory diseases with high unmet medical needs, announced today the appointments of three new independent board members, bringing the total board membership to seven.

The existing board of ZyVersa appointed the following new board members: Gregory G. Freitag, J.D., CPA; Katrin Rupalla, PhD; and James Sapirstein. The new board members will join Robert G. Finizio, Executive Director of PleoPharma; Daniel O'Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder, and Director of Ambrx Biopharma; Minchul Park, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Curebio; and ZyVersa's Chief Commercial Officer and President, Stephen C. Glover, who also serves as chairman of the ZyVersa board.

"We are delighted to welcome our three new board members at this important time in ZyVersa's evolution," stated Stephen C. Glover. "As biopharmaceutical leaders with impeccable credentials and a proven track record of success, their knowledge and perspectives will be invaluable as we progress development of our company and our lead renal and anti-inflammatory assets. We look forward to their contributions and insights." 

Gregory G. Freitag, J.D., CPA

Mr. Freitag has more than 30 years of executive management, legal and financial experience in the Life Science, Medical Device, and Healthcare markets. Currently, he serves as a board member of PDS Biotechnology a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing a growing pipeline of targeted cancer and infectious disease immunotherapies, and AxoGen, Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company dedicated to peripheral nerve repair. Prior to retirement, Mr. Freitag served as Axogen's General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, and Senior Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Freitag has held executive positions at LecTec Corporation, which merged with AxoGen in September 2011; Pfizer Health Solutions, a former subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc.; Guidant Corporation; HTS Biosystems; and Quantech, Ltd.

Katrin Rupalla, PhD

Dr. Rupalla has more than 25 years of experience in development, primarily in the areas of oncology, immunology, and neurology. Currently she is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Ymmunobio AG, a preclinical stage oncology biotech company developing two novel classes of therapeutic antibodies to treat cancer. Dr. Rupalla is also the Chair of the board of AMBRX, and a board member of the non-profit Cancer Drug Development Forum. Dr. Rupalla has held several leadership positions in pharmaceutical companies including Lundbeck, BMS, Celgene and Roche. Her regulatory and drug development career includes several world-wide approvals of major oncology and hematology products, and a multitude of new indication approvals in various therapeutic areas.

James Sapirstein

Mr. Sapirstein has served for over thirty-eight years in the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ: FWBI), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of targeted, non-systemic therapies for gastrointestinal diseases. He also holds board positions at Enochian Biosciences, Blue Water Vaccines, and BIO, the leading biotechnology trade organization promoting public policy and networking in the healthcare space, where he sits on the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board. Mr. Sapirstein has held executive positions at ContraVir Pharmaceuticals; Alliqua, Inc.; Tobira Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan; Serono Laboratories; and Gilead Sciences. He has raised over $300 Million dollars in venture capital and public capital markets financing in his various engagements as Chief Executive Officer.

About ZyVersa Therapeutics, Inc.

ZyVersa is a clinical stage specialty biopharmaceutical company leveraging advanced, proprietary technologies to develop first-in-class drugs. Our focus is on patients with renal or inflammatory diseases who have significant unmet medical needs. Our development pipeline includes phase 2a-ready VAR 200, a cholesterol efflux mediator for treatment of rare kidney disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). VAR 200 has potential to treat other kidney diseases, such as Alport Syndrome and Diabetic Kidney Disease. It also includes a novel inflammasome ASC inhibitor with potential to treat multiple 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.