ReAlta Life Sciences Announces Appointment of Jonathan Rigby to Board of Directors
Bringing Decades of Successful Biotech Company Growth, Financing, IPO and M&A Expertise
ReAlta Life Sciences Inc. ("ReAlta" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on safely targeting neutrophils and central components of the complement system to revolutionize the treatment of inflammatory disorders, today announced the appointment of Jonathan Rigby as a member of the ReAlta Life Sciences Board of Directors.
Howard Berman, Ph.D., executive chairman, stated: "Jonathan brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial drive, disciplined company-building, and proven capital-markets execution. He has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to raise significant capital, structure and close transformative transactions, and build biotechnology companies from early development through public listings and large strategic exits. Just as importantly, Jonathan has the right DNA for ReAlta — a hands-on operator with deep scientific appreciation and a relentless passion and focus on providing life-changing medicines to patients in need, along with value creation for shareholders. I believe his experience and judgment will be instrumental as we advance our programs and work to deliver meaningful, life changing products for patients in our target indications."
Mr. Rigby is currently Chief Executive Officer of Sernova Biotherapeutics, where he is leading the development of a novel functional cure for type 1 diabetes. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Revolo Biotherapeutics, an autoimmune and allergic disease company focused on re-setting the immune system from a pro-inflammatory state to a regulated homeostatic state, guiding the company through multiple financings totaling over $150 million and two Phase 2 clinical trials.
Mr. Rigby has also held senior leadership roles in public markets, including Chairman and Chief Business Officer of BIOS Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ:BIOS), which completed an oversubscribed initial public offering and board member of Xeris Pharma (Nasdaq; XERS). He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of SteadyMed Therapeutics (NASDAQ:STDY), where he conceived and led the development of Trevyent™ for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), advancing the program from concept through commercially manufactured product under FDA NDA review, prior to SteadyMed's acquisition by United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) for approximately $350 million. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rigby co-founded Zogenix, which was taken public via an initial public offering on Nasdaq (NASDAQ:ZGNX) and subsequently acquired by UCB Pharma for approximately $2 billion. Mr. Rigby holds a bachelors' degree, with honors, in Biological Sciences from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Portsmouth (UK).
Jonathan Rigby commented: "ReAlta is focused on very serious medical problems such as Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in newborn babies, and I am enthusiastic to join the Board at such a pivotal stage in the company's evolution and help address this terrible condition. ReAlta has assembled a world class management team, a compelling platform addressing significant unmet medical needs, and I am particularly enthusiastic about pegtarazimod and its differentiated, dual mechanism of action targeting both neutrophil-driven inflammation and complement activation. I am confident ReAlta will succeed. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working closely with the Board and management team to help advance the company's clinical and corporate milestones, support strategic business development and partnering opportunities, and ultimately help position ReAlta for long-term value creation."
About ReAlta Life Sciences
ReAlta Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company redefining the treatment possibilities for patients with devastating and historically untreatable inflammation-driven diseases by developing first-in-class tailored peptides designed to achieve life-changing outcomes with unprecedented safety. The company's lead candidate, pegtarazimod (RLS-0071) is a next-generation dual-targeting intervention that represents a solution that rebalances the body's inflammatory response and prevents tissue damage by selectively blocking both complement- and neutrophil-mediated pathways at the outset, disrupting inflammation at the core. To learn more about ReAlta, visit https://realtalifesciences.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About RLS-0071 (pegtarazimod)
Pegtarazimod is a 15-amino-acid peptide that uniquely targets both humoral and cellular inflammation and is the Company's lead therapeutic candidate. The peptide works by inhibiting complement activation at C1, as well as myeloperoxidase activity and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation—key mechanisms implicated in the inflammatory cascade underlying a broad range of diseases driven by dysregulated neutrophils and complement activity. Pegtarazimod was derived from a mechanistic discovery of the human astrovirus HAstV-1, a virus known to cause non-inflammatory gastroenteritis, which provided a novel scaffold for innate immune modulation. Across multiple clinical studies in healthy volunteers and patients with life-threatening inflammatory conditions, pegtarazimod has demonstrated a favorable tolerability profile and encouraging clinical signals, supporting its development in acute inflammatory diseases with significant unmet medical need. Pegtarazimod has received FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), EMA Orphan Drug Designation for HIE, FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations for acute Graft vs Host Disease, and EMA Orphan Drug Designation for acute Graft vs Host Disease.
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Investors
John Rickman
Chief Executive Officer
jrickman@realtals.com
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John Rickman
Chief Executive Officer
jrickman@realtals.com