Pharming Group Announces the Nomination of Barbara Yanni and Mark Pykett to the Board of Supervisory Directors

LEIDEN, Netherlands, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharming Group N.V. ("Pharming" or "the Company") (Euronext Amsterdam: PHARM) announces the nomination of Barbara Yanni and Mark Pykett to its Board of Supervisory Directors. An Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders is expected to be convened later this year for their official appointment. Until that moment, Barbara Yanni and Mark Pykett will hold an observational role within Pharming's Board of Supervisory Directors.

Paul Sekhri, Chairman of the Board of Supervisory Directors, commented:

"We are thrilled to nominate Barbara Yanni and Mark Pykett as new members of the Board of Supervisory Directors. Their extensive experience and strong track record in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology in the US complements the existing expertise of our Board. Accordingly, they will further strengthen the Board's ability to effectively oversee Pharming's fast-growing global business activities, especially those in the increasingly important US market."

Sijmen de Vries, Chief Executive Officer, added:

"I welcome Barbara Yanni and Mark Pykett to Pharming. I look forward to working closely with them both, as we continue to implement our growth strategy from a strong financial position with additional cash resources to invest in the Company's long-term prospects."

Barbara Yanni

Barbara Yanni has over thirty-five years of experience in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. She currently serves as an independent director of three public clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies, including Trevena (NASDAQ: TRVN), Vaccinex (NASDAQ: VCNX) and Akcea (NASDAQ: AKCA). In the past, Barbara served as a board member of Abionyx (Paris: ABNX) and Symic Bio, a private biotech company. 

Barbara retired from Merck & Co., Inc. in 2014 after 12 years as Vice President and Chief Licensing Officer. At Merck, Barbara and her licensing team successfully structured and negotiated agreements to acquire rights to over 150 compounds, programs and technologies to enhance the pipeline. In addition, Barbara significantly increased Merck's visibility as a preferred partner. Barbara began her Merck career as a tax lawyer and then transitioned to finance, first as Director of Benefits Financing and subsequently as Senior Director of Financial Evaluations and Analysis where she evaluated the financial aspects of acquisitions, joint ventures, licenses and other transactions.

Barbara has a JD from Stanford Law School and an AB from Wellesley College where she studied Physics and Latin. She also holds a Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University

Mark Pykett

Mark Pykett is Chief Scientific Officer of PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTCT). Before joining PTC in 2018, Mark held a number of executive positions, including president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agilis Biotherapeutics, CEO of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals (NYSE MKT: NAVB), and president and CEO of Alseres Pharmaceuticals (ALSE.PQ), among others. Mark also served as a director of several public and private companies, as well as the not-for-profit organisation, HealthBuilders, which develops health infrastructure in central Africa.

Mark received his B.A. from Amherst College, a V.M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.

About Pharming Group N.V.

Pharming is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the safe, effective treatment of rare diseases and unmet medical needs. Pharming's lead product, RUCONEST® (conestat alfa) is a recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor approved for the treatment of acute Hereditary Angioedema ("HAE") attacks in patients in Europe, the US, Israel and South Korea. The product is available on a named-patient basis in other territories where it has not yet obtained marketing authorisation.

RUCONEST® is commercialised by Pharming in the US and in Europe, and the Company holds all other commercialisation rights in other countries not specified below. In some of these other countries distribution is made in association with the HAEi Global Access Program (GAP). RUCONEST® is distributed in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela by Cytobioteck, in South Korea by HyupJin Corporation and in Israel by Kamada.

RUCONEST® is also being evaluated for various additional indications. Pharming's technology platform includes a unique production process that has proven capable of producing industrial quantities of pure high quality recombinant human proteins in a more economical and less immunogenic way compared with current cell-line based methods.

Leads for enzyme replacement therapy ("ERT") for Pompe and Fabry's diseases are also being produced and optimised respectively at present.

Pharming has recently in-licensed leniolisib from Novartis, a small molecule and selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, which is in a registrational study for activated PI3K-delta syndrome (APDS), a rare form of Primary Immunodeficiency.

Pharming has a long term partnership with the China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry ("CSIPI"), a Sinopharm company, for joint global development of new products, starting with recombinant human Factor VIII for the treatment of Haemophilia A. Preclinical development and manufacturing will take place to global standards at CSIPI and its affiliates and are funded by CSIPI. Clinical development will be shared between the partners with each partner taking the costs for their territories under the partnership.

Additional information is available on the Pharming website: www.pharming.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release of Pharming Group N.V. and its subsidiaries ("Pharming", the "Company" or the "Group") may contain forward-looking statements including without limitation those regarding Pharming's financial projections, market expectations, developments, partnerships, plans, strategies and capital expenditures.

The Company cautions that such forward-looking statements may involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive, political and economic factors, legal claims, the Company's ability to protect intellectual property, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates, changes in taxation laws or rates, changes in legislation or accountancy practices and the Company's ability to identify, develop and successfully commercialize new products, markets or technologies.

As a result, the Company's actual performance, position and financial results and statements may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which should be taken as of their respective dates of issue, unless required by laws or regulations.

For further public information, contact:
Pharming Group N.V.
Sijmen de Vries, CEO, Tel: +31 71 524 7400
Susanne Embleton, Investor Relations Manager: +31 71 524 7400

FTI Consulting, London, UK:
Victoria Foster Mitchell, Tel: +44 203 727 1136

LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Leon Melens, Tel: +31 6 53 81 64 27

PRN NLD