ProMis Neurosciences Announces Appointment Of Anthony Giovinazzo To Its Board Of Directors

Accomplished biotech leader joins ProMIS Board of Directors

TSX: PMN

TORONTO, March 2, 2017 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences ("ProMIS" or the "Company"), a company focused on the discovery and development of precision treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Anthony J. Giovinazzo, MBA, to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.

"I first met Anthony over twenty years ago, working together on an Alzheimer's diagnostics opportunity" stated Eugene Williams, ProMIS Executive Chairman. "He and I have been talking about a shared commitment to making a difference in Alzheimer's for a long time.   After the outstanding job that Anthony did at Cynapsus, for both Parkinson's patients and shareholders, he has many alternatives.  We are thrilled that he has chosen to apply his talents and energy to ProMIS".

Anthony Giovinazzo is currently President and CEO of Sunovion CNS Development Canada ULC. As President and CEO of Cynapsus Therapeutics from 2009 through 2016 he led the successful purchase of  Cynapsus by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, a member of the Dainipon Sumitomo Pharma group of Japan. At Cynapsus, Anthony led the successful development of APL 130277 (a sublingual strip of apomorphine) through to late stage Phase 3 studies and was responsible for Cynapsus up-listing from the TSX Venture exchange to the TSX and then the NASDAQ.

"I am delighted to join the Board of Directors of ProMIS Neurosciences," stated Mr. Giovinazzo. "Having devoted most of my career to the development and commercialization of therapies for neurodegenerative disease, I look forward to leveraging my experience to support the Company as it develops innovative, precision medicine therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS".

About Anthony Giovinazzo, MBA.
Anthony J. Giovinazzo has over thirty-eight years of professional experience. His first seven years were spent as an international corporate tax specialist primarily in multinational conglomerates. Over the subsequent eight years Anthony worked in Fortune 100 investment banking and private equity. For the last twenty-three years he worked exclusively on the discovery, development and commercialization of neurodegenerative disease therapeutics. His primary areas of focus have been Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and neuropathic pain.

Since October 2016 he has been the President and CEO of Sunovion CNS Development Canada ULC., a successor company to Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc., which was purchased by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a member of the Dainipon Sumitomo Pharma group of companies of Japan. He was President, CEO and a Director of Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. from 2009 to 2016 and was one of the three original inventors and patent holders of the Cynapsus Parkinson's focussed technology. Under his leadership the company successfully developed APL 130277 (a sublingual strip of apomorphine for OFF episodes) through to late stage Phase 3 studies. In addition, Anthony led the up-listing of Cynapsus from the TSX Venture exchange to the TSX and then the NASDAQ, attracting bulge bracket investment banks and some of the largest institutional life science investors in the USA. The sale of Cynapsus to Sunovion in 2016 resulted in a 120% premium to market price (CDN$841 million) via an all cash M&A transaction.

Mr Giovinazzo is the co-author of several peer reviewed papers and author of several papers on strategic and financing issues in the biopharmaceutical industry. He was a finalist in the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year (2014) for Ontario Canada. He is a Chartered Director and Audit Committee Certified, both from The Directors College, a degree granting affiliate of Mc Master University, Hamilton Canada. He also has completed the Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech, in 2006 from Harvard Business School, Boston, MA; a Masters of Business Administration from IMD, Geneva Switzerland in 1986; Graduate Certificate Studies in Canadian Law Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, in 1984; and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Accounting at McMaster University in 1978. 

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

The mission of ProMIS Neurosciences is to discover and develop precision medicine therapeutics for effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and ALS.

ProMIS Neurosciences' proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two, complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platformProMIS and Collective Coordinates to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique "precision medicine" approach, ProMIS Neurosciences is developing novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. The company has also developed two proprietary technologies to specifically identify very low levels of misfolded proteins in a biological sample. In addition, ProMIS Neurosciences owns a portfolio of therapeutic and diagnostic patents relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, and currently has a preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutic against this target.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release may contain certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please consult the Company's website at: www.promisneurosciences.com

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SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.