BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC, Nasdaq: PRTC) (“PureTech” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, is pleased to note that its Founded Entity, Vedanta Biosciences, today announced the appointment of Troy Ignelzi as an independent member of its Board of Directors.

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Vedanta Biosciences announced the appointment of Troy Ignelzi as an independent member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Ignelzi has more than 25 years of experience supporting life science companies in finance, business development and operations, and has helped oversee their evolutions from privately held, clinical-stage companies to publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies preparing for commercial launches. (Photo: Business Wire)

Mr. Ignelzi has played a key role in seven IPOs, and currently serves as the chief financial officer of Karuna Therapeutics. He has more than 25 years of experience supporting life science companies in finance, business development and operations, and has helped oversee their evolutions from privately held, clinical-stage companies to publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies preparing for commercial launches.

The full text of the announcement from Vedanta Biosciences is as follows:

Vedanta Biosciences Appoints Troy Ignelzi, Chief Financial Officer at Karuna Therapeutics, to its Board of Directors

Mr. Ignelzi brings strong financial and operational expertise to the board and will serve as chairman of the Audit Committee

CAMBRIDGE, November 24, 2020 – Vedanta Biosciences, a leading clinical-stage company developing a new category of therapies for immune-mediated diseases based on rationally-defined consortia of human microbiome-derived bacteria, today announced the appointment of Troy Ignelzi as an independent member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Ignelzi has more than 25 years of experience supporting life science companies in finance, business development and operations, and has helped oversee their evolutions from privately held, clinical-stage companies to publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies preparing for commercial launches.

“We’re excited to welcome Troy to the Vedanta board,” said Bernat Olle, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Vedanta Biosciences. “Troy has a wealth of expertise in the biotech industry that can help guide our financial strategy as we move to our next phase of development.”

Mr. Ignelzi has played a key role in seven IPOs, and currently serves as the chief financial officer of Karuna Therapeutics. He joined Karuna in March 2019, coming from scPharmaceuticals, where he was also in the role of chief financial officer overseeing its transformation to a company preparing for commercial launch. Prior to scPharmaceuticals, Mr. Ignelzi was a senior executive at Juventas Therapeutics, Esperion Therapeutics and Insys Therapeutics, helping raise public and private capital, expand development pipelines through licensing and acquisition and advancing critical therapies, several of which are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Mr. Ignelzi holds a B.A. in accounting from Ferris State University.

“This is an exciting time for Vedanta and for the microbiome field,” said Mr. Ignelzi. “In this position, I look forward to helping the Vedanta team advance defined bacterial consortia as a new drug modality.”

About Vedanta Biosciences

Vedanta Biosciences is leading the development of a potential new category of oral therapies based on rationally defined consortia of bacteria derived from the human microbiome. The company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes product candidates being evaluated for the treatment of high-risk C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, advanced or metastatic cancers, and food allergy. These investigational therapies are grounded in pioneering research – published in leading journals including Science, Nature, and Cell – to identify beneficial bacteria that live symbiotically within the healthy human gut, fight pathogens and induce a range of potent immune responses. Vedanta Biosciences controls a foundational portfolio of more than 40 patents and has built what is believed to be the world’s biggest library of bacteria derived from the human microbiome. Proprietary capabilities include deep expertise in consortium design, vast datasets from human interventional studies and cGMP-compliant manufacturing of oral live biotherapeutics containing pure, clonally derived bacterial consortia in powdered form. Vedanta Biosciences was founded by PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC, Nasdaq: PRTC) and a global team of scientific co-founders who pioneered Vedanta’s modern understanding of the cross-talk between the microbiome and the immune system.

About PureTech Health

PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing highly differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases, central nervous system disorders and inflammatory and immunological diseases, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and development team and its extensive network of scientists, clinicians and industry leaders. This pipeline, which is being advanced both internally and through PureTech’s Founded Entities, is comprised of 24 products and product candidates, including two that have received FDA clearance and European marketing authorization. All of the underlying programs and platforms that resulted in this pipeline of product candidates were initially identified or discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key validation points based on the Company’s unique insights into the biology of the brain, immune and gut, or BIG, systems and the interface between those systems, referred to as the BIG Axis.

For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect with us on Twitter @puretechh.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains statements that are or may be forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the company's future prospects, developments, and strategies. The forward looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the addition of Mr. Ignelzi to Vedanta’s Board of Directors and those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and future business strategies of the company and the environment in which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements, neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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