About Dr. Braunstein, Independent Director Nominee
Dr. Braunstein is an Operating Partner at Aisling Capital, a leading investment firm. He held leadership roles including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategy at Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the clinical and commercial development of new products utilized in acute patient care. Earlier in his career, Dr. Braunstein held positions in finance at Everpoint Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. He began his career as a practicing physician at the Summit Medical Group and as Assistant Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and for Columbia University Medical Center after completing his training at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, his research experience at Rockefeller University, and earning his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
About Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.
Ziopharm Oncology is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the development of next-generation immunotherapies utilizing gene- and cell-based therapies to treat patients with cancer. In partnership with Precigen Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON), Ziopharm is focused on the development of two platform technologies designed to deliver safe, effective and scalable cell- and viral-based therapies for the treatment of multiple cancer types: ControlledIL-12 andSleeping Beautyfor genetically modifying T cells. The Company’s lead asset,Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex, has demonstrated in clinical trials the potential to controlinterleukin-12, leading to an infiltration of T cells that fight cancer.Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat brain cancer and other tumor types. The Company also is advancing therapies usingSleeping Beauty, anon-viral approach to genetically modify chimeric antigen receptor (CAR+) andT-cell receptor (TCR+) T cells, which target specific antigens in blood cancers and neoantigens in solid tumors.Sleeping Beautyis designed using the Company’spoint-of-care technology, a shortened manufacturing process which potentially can be developed as a decentralized manufacturing process based in hospitals. These programs are being advanced in collaboration with Precigen and with MD Anderson Cancer Center, the National Cancer Institute and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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 skills, experience and expertise the independent director nominees would bring to the Ziopharm Board of Directors if elected; the retirement of Sir Murray Brennan, M.D., and former U.S. Sen. William Wyche Fowler from the Ziopharm Board of Directors following the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders; and the director nominee slate proposed for election at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. All such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to advance certain activities; whether chimeric antigen receptor T cell(CAR-T) approaches,Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK cell-based therapies, or any other product candidates will advance further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indications; whether chimeric antigen receptor T cell(CAR-T) approaches,Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK cell-based therapies, and the Company’s other therapeutic products it develops will be successfully marketed if approved; the strength and enforceability of the Company’s intellectual property
