AiCuris AG Announces Appointment of Larry Edwards as Chief Executive Officer and Formation of U.S. Subsidiary

AiCuris AG Announces Appointment of Larry Edwards as Chief Executive Officer and Formation of U.S. Subsidiary

• Larry Edwards brings more than two decades of experience in executive and commercial leadership roles in the anti-infective space at both biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies
• AiCuris establishes a U.S. subsidiary as part of preparations for commercialization of its lead product Pritelivir
• Dr. Holger Zimmermann to transition from CEO to newly created position of Chief Research and Development Officer to drive R&D activities, including ongoing development and expected NDA submission for Pritelivir

Wuppertal, Germany, April 4, 2023 - AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG, a leading clinical stage pharmaceutical company in the development of novel, resistance-breaking anti-infective agents for the treatment of severe and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases, today announced the appointment of Larry Edwards as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective April 1, 2023. Mr. Edwards is an experienced executive with a strong track record of financing and building net cash positive biopharmaceutical companies, as well as successful M&A. He joins with excellent leadership capabilities and will be responsible for driving AiCuris’ growth strategy as well as managing its overall operations. Mr. Edwards will also be President of the Company’s newly formed subsidiary, AiCuris U.S. Inc., located in Massachusetts. In this role, he will be responsible for establishing the Company’s U.S. presence and preparing for commercialization of AiCuris’ lead proprietary product candidate, Pritelivir. Mr. Edwards will be based in the U.S.

Mr. Edwards succeeds Dr. Holger Zimmermann, who has successfully led AiCuris as CEO since 2015, and is now taking over the newly created position of Chief Research and Development Officer (CRDO). In this role, Dr. Zimmermann will continue to be responsible for the future focus and direction of the Company’s R&D activities and will oversee AiCuris’ advanced anti-infective development pipeline, including Pritelivir, which is currently in a pivotal phase 3 trial for the treatment of acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections in immunocompromised patients. Should the phase 3 trial be successful, he will oversee the related New Drug Application (NDA) submission to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

“It is my pleasure to welcome Larry as our new CEO. With his exceptional background knowledge in the field of anti-infectives, his proven track record of implementing transformational change at companies and his commercialization expertise, he is the perfect match to lead AiCuris on its planned path of becoming a globally active, profitable pharmaceutical company,” said Dr. Stefan Oschmann, Chairman of the Board of AiCuris. “On behalf of the Board, I also would like to take the opportunity to warmly thank Holger for his outstanding contribution as CEO.  During his tenure, the Company successfully established itself as the powerhouse for anti-infectives. We saw the approval and market launch of PREVYMIS^® (letermovir), a groundbreaking drug to prevent CMV infections in immunocompromised patients that had been co-invented by Holger, developed at AiCuris and outlicensed to MSD. Under Holger’s leadership of AiCuris, the next promising candidate, Pritelivir, moved into pivotal phase 3 clinical development and is now preparing for data read-out and NDA submission. On behalf of the entire AiCuris Board, we are very proud to work with such a high caliber executive board and to support shaping the future of this exciting company.”

Larry Edwards brings more than two decades of experience in operations and commercial leadership roles in the anti-infective space at both biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining AiCuris, Mr. Edwards served as President and CEO of publicly traded La Jolla Pharmaceuticals, which he successfully sold and integrated into Innoviva, Inc. Before that, he was CEO of Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by La Jolla in 2020. Prior to that  he worked for Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co., Inc. for over 16 years, in a variety of Global and US commercial and leadership roles with escalating responsibilities.  Mr. Edwards has an MBA from Boston University and a BS in kinesiology & healthcare administration from Ohio University.

Larry Edwards, newly appointed CEO of AiCuris, commented: “I very much look forward to working with the AiCuris team and leading the Company into an exciting future. With its advanced development pipeline, including a candidate in phase 3 clinical development, as well as a licensed product on the market, the Company is well positioned to become a leader in the field of anti-infectives. I am grateful to have the opportunity to join such a dynamic company focused on improving therapeutic outcomes for patients with life-threatening diseases and to build and execute its strategies for strong growth and success.”

 
About AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG 

AiCuris, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focuses on the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative, anti-infectives drugs to patients with severe infections. The company has developed a commercial drug as well as broad pipeline of clinical-stage and pre-clinical anti-viral and anti-bacterial product candidates. Its lead product PREVYMIS® (letermovir), a first-in-class non-nucleoside cytomegalovirus (CMV) inhibitor, was licensed to MSD and is commercialized in the EU, US, Japan, China and other parts of the world for the prevention of human CMV infections in immunocompromised patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Its wholly owned product candidate, pritelivir, targeting resistant herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in immunocompromised patients, is in phase 3 clinical development. Therapeutic candidates for the treatment of other viruses such as BK virus and adenovirus are in earlier stages of development, as are antibacterial product candidates for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), sepsis and topical applications.

AiCuris is supported by a strong shareholder base, including lead investor SANTO Holding.  

For more information, please visit www.aicuris.com.
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