Asher Bio Appoints Independent Director Bob Deresiewicz, M.D., to its Board

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asher Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Asher Bio), a biotechnology company developing precisely-targeted immunotherapies for cancer, chronic viral infections and autoimmune disorders, today announced the appointment of Bob Deresiewicz, M.D., to its Board of Directors. Dr. Deresiewicz is a recently retired partner, portfolio manager and global industry analyst with Wellington Management Company, LLP.

“Bob is an outstanding addition to our Board of Directors. As a highly regarded physician-scientist and savvy investor, he brings a unique understanding of how to build a successful biotechnology company, both in identifying and advancing quality science and developing a robust and resilient corporate strategy,” said Craig Gibbs, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Asher Bio. “Bob’s inherent curiosity and commitment to rigorous research are well-aligned with our corporate culture and we look forward to his many contributions as we continue maturing Asher Bio and advancing our precision immunotherapies to the clinic.”

“As an early investor in Asher Bio, I have had the opportunity to follow the company closely and have been consistently impressed by the team’s scientific approach and execution,” said Dr. Deresiewicz. “I believe Asher Bio’s cis-targeted cytokines have the potential to solve the long-standing challenge of safely harnessing potent immunomodulators for therapeutic use by precisely delivering them to the desired effector cells while avoiding cell types associated with toxicity. I look forward to working with the management team and Board to advance these programs and ultimately to delivering important new medicines that meaningfully improve the standard of care for people living with cancer, autoimmune disease, or other infectious disease.”

Dr. Deresiewicz started at Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington), in 2000, where he served as a member of the firm’s healthcare investment team, specializing in biotechnology. Over the course of his career, he managed or co-managed a variety of dedicated healthcare investment vehicles, including both public and private equity products. Prior to Wellington, Dr. Deresiewicz was an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He trained in infectious disease at Harvard Medical School, in tropical medicine at Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem and in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Dr. Deresiewicz holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a B.A. in Biochemistry from Columbia University. He was Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and was an elected fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the Infectious Disease Society of America.

About Asher Bio

Asher Bio is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies to precisely engage specific immune cells to fight cancer, chronic viral infections and autoimmune disorders. We utilize our proprietary cis-targeting platform to develop therapies engineered to overcome limitations of other immune-based treatments by selectively activating specific immune cell types with validated disease fighting functionality. Our candidates feature an antibody connected to a modified immunomodulatory protein, such as a cytokine. Our candidate design is intended to enable our candidates to selectively activate the desired immune cells and not other cells that contribute to toxicity or immune suppression. Asher Bio was founded by Ivana Djuretic and Andy Yeung with support from Third Rock Ventures and is located in South San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.asherbio.com and follow us on Twitter @AsherBio and on LinkedIn.

Media
Kathryn Morris, The Yates Network
914-204-6412
kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com

Investor
Hannah Deresiewicz, Stern Investor Relations, Inc.
212-362-1200
hannah.deresiewicz@sternir.com