David Pyott Joins Rani Therapeutics Board

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Rani Therapeutics, an InCube Labs company, today announced that seasoned pharmaceutical executive, Dr. David Pyott, is joining its Board. Dr. Pyott is formerly the Chairman and Chief Executive Offer of Allergan (AGN), where he spent 17 years before the sale of the company to Actavis in 2015. Prior to Allergan, Dr. Pyott served as the Head of the Novartis Nutrition Division and as a member of the Executive Committee of Switzerland-based Novartis AG.

Rani is developing a novel technology platform to convert injectable drugs such as TNF-alpha inhibitors, interleukin antibodies, basal insulin and GLP-1 into oral pills. The addition of Dr. Pyott follows a milestone period for Rani, including two major pharmaceutical collaborations with Novartis and Astra Zeneca, and a Series C funding round which brought the company's total investment to $85 million.  

Dr. Pyott served as the CEO of Allergan from 1998-2015, where he transformed Allergan from a small eye care company into a multi-billion dollar global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, driving growth in sales from $1 billion to $7 billion principally by internal innovation, and accompanied by an increase in market capitalization of $68 billion. During his tenure, Dr. Pyott was recognized as one of "The 100 Best Performing CEO's in the World" by Harvard Business Review.  

"David's successful leadership of Allergan, his impressive track record over decades, and his passion for improving the patient experience, make him the perfect choice for the Rani Board," said Mir Imran, Chairman & CEO of Rani Therapeutics. "David is widely recognized as one of the top performing executives in the business, and David's expertise and guidance will be invaluable to us at this critical growth stage for Rani."

"I have always been a big believer in innovations that improve patient outcomes, and I believe that Rani has the potential to disrupt the industry with its innovative approach to delivering biologics orally," said Dr. David Pyott. "Mir Imran and his team have built a solid foundation with a great technology, strong industry collaborations and an impressive IP portfolio.  I am thrilled to work closely with Rani during this exciting next phase of growth, while helping the company maximize value for patients and shareholders."    

Dr. Pyott is a member of the Boards of Avery Dennison Corporation, Bioniz Therapeutics, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and a member of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips in the Netherlands. He is a member of the Governing Board of the London Business School, President of the International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Pyott holds a Diploma in International and European Law from the Europa Institute at the University of Amsterdam, a Master of Arts degree and an Honorary Degree in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the London Business School.  David is also an active philanthropist and created the David E.I. Pyott Foundation to educate physicians on improving patient outcomes.  

About Rani Therapeutics  
Founded in 2012, Rani Therapeutics has developed a novel approach for the oral delivery of peptides, proteins and therapeutic antibodies which to date can only be delivered through injections. Rani has a solid patent position with 30 patents issued and more than 80 patents filed.  The approach and technology for Rani Therapeutics was developed at InCube Labs, a multi-disciplinary life sciences R&D lab focused on developing breakthrough medical innovations. InCube is led by Mir Imran, a prolific medical inventor, entrepreneur and investor, who has founded more than 20 life sciences companies and holds more than 400 patents issued and pending in the US. Many of Imran's innovations have resulted in new standards of care, including the first FDA-approved Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. For more information, please visit: www.ranitherapeutics.com and www.incubelabs.com. 

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SOURCE Rani Therapeutics