Bioniz Therapeutics Appoints Graham Cooper to its Board of Directors

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of first-in-class peptide therapeutics that selectively and simultaneously inhibit multiple cytokines to treat immuno-inflammatory diseases and T-cell malignancies, today announced the appointment of Graham Cooper to its Board of Directors.

Most recently, Mr. Cooper was the Chief Financial Officer of Receptos, Inc. from 2013 until its sale in 2015 to Celgene for $7.8 billion. Prior to joining Receptos, Inc., Mr. Cooper served as the Chief Financial Officer of both Geron Corporation and Orexigen Therapeutics. He previously held the position of Director, Health Care Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank Securities. Mr. Cooper holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and has a C.P.A.  Mr. Cooper is also on the Boards of Directors of Unity Biotechnology, Inc. and Kezar Life Sciences, Inc.

"On behalf of Bioniz and the Board of Directors, I welcome Graham to the team and we look forward to drawing upon his strong strategic, operational, and financial experience during this exciting period for the company," said Dr. David Pyott, Chairman of Bioniz' Board of Directors.

Mr. Cooper commented, "I am excited to join the Bioniz team and to work closely with its highly accomplished Board of Directors.  Bioniz' novel platform and exciting product candidates have tremendous potential to treat important autoimmune diseases and cancers where there currently are no approved therapies. I am thrilled to contribute to the Company's goal of developing meaningful new treatments to patients."

About Bioniz

Bioniz is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of first-in-class multi-cytokine inhibitory peptide therapeutics to address immuno-inflammatory diseases and cancer. Bioniz leverages its world class expertise in cytokine biology, originating in research conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop a novel approach to selectively inhibit functionally redundant cytokines while leaving the rest of the cytokine network intact. Bioniz' innovative platform has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications in notable scientific journals. Bioniz' lead product candidate, BNZ-1, has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers. For more information, please visit www.bioniz.com.

SOURCE Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc.