Dr. David Mauney stepping down as President; Remains a consultant to the Company BOSTON, May 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (“Ziopharm” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ZIOP), today announced Dr. David Mauney is stepping down as President. Dr. Mauney remains a consultant to Ziopharm and will continue to help guide the Company through this transition.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to serve as President of Ziopharm, and I am incredibly proud of where we are as a Company,” said Dr. Mauney. “The Company is positioned for success, with a clear strategy, a strong balance sheet, and tremendous assets all in place, which is why we have decided that now is the appropriate natural inflection point to make this transition. I came on board in 2017 with ambitions to help Laurence and the team strengthen the corporate structure and develop a vision that allows Ziopharm to take its sound and exciting scientific foundation and build it to its full capacity. We have achieved these goals and more and I am fully convinced of the Company’s prosperous future. I believe the strong culture anchored by the senior management team and Board in place focused on caring for patients with solid tumors will drive the Company to great heights.” Dr. Laurence Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of Ziopharm said, “I know I speak for everyone at Ziopharm in thanking David for his exceptional contributions and dedication to the Company. David was instrumental in helping Ziopharm forge its corporate independence in late 2018 and led our successful efforts in securing necessary financial resources to establish our TCR-T program and build out the Controlled IL-12 platform. He has been a fantastic partner and we all wish him the very best.” Dr. Mauney joined Ziopharm in September 2017 as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer after having been an investor in the company for many years. He was promoted to President in December 2018, and together with the senior management team helped to restructure the Company and raised over $200 million to fund its development pipeline. About Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.
Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven cell and gene therapies that weaponize the body’s immune system to treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with a solid tumor each year. With its multiplatform approach, Ziopharm is at the forefront of immuno-oncology with a goal to treat any type of solid tumor. Ziopharm’s pipeline is built for commercially scalable, cost effective T-cell receptor T-cell therapies based on its non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer platform, a precisely controlled IL-12 gene therapy, and rapidly manufactured Sleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company has clinical and strategic partnerships with the National Cancer Institute, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and others. For more information, please visit www.ziopharm.com. Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's business and strategic plans, the availability of cash resources and the progress, design and timing of the Company's research and development programs. Although Ziopharm’s management team believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Ziopharm, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, changes in our operating plans that may impact our cash expenditures, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including whether any of Ziopharm’s product candidates will advance further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process, including receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies to conduct clinical trials and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indication; the strength and enforceability of Ziopharm’s intellectual property rights; competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as risk factors discussed or identified in the public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by Ziopharm, including those risks and uncertainties listed in Ziopharm’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by Ziopharm with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Company’s business, clinical development and regulatory efforts and the value of its common stock, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease. The global economic slowdown, the overall disruption of global healthcare systems and the other risks and uncertainties associated with the pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release, and Ziopharm does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. Investor Relations Contacts:
Ziopharm:
Chris Taylor
VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
T: 617.502.1881
E: ctaylor@ziopharm.com LifeSci Advisors:
Mike Moyer
Managing Director
T: 617.308.4306
E: mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com Media Relations Contact:
LifeSci Communications:
Patrick Bursey
T: 646.876.4932
E: pbursey@lifescicomms.com
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