Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Appoints AnnKatrin Petersen-Jappelli, M.D., M.SC. As Chief Medical Officer

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTTR) (Ritter Pharmaceuticals or the Company), a pharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic products that modulate the human gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases, today announced the appointment of AnnKatrin Petersen-Jappelli, M.D., M.Sc. as its Chief Medical Officer.

Michael D. Step, Chief Executive Officer of Ritter Pharmaceuticals, commented, “The addition of Dr. Petersen-Jappelli further strengthens Ritter Pharmaceuticals’ management with a leader who has significant experience in both the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, with a focus on treating gastrointestinal diseases. She has proven success in product development across all development stages and will be an invaluable asset as we progress with the clinical trials of our lead product candidate, RP-G28, and work to further expand our product portfolio. We are excited to have Dr. Petersen-Jappelli join our team and look forward to the contributions she will make to the Company.”

Dr. Petersen-Jappelli joins Ritter with 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug development experience. Formerly, she was with Santarus Inc. where she served as Advisor, Scientific Research and Clinical Development Leader of rifamycin SV MMX, a Phase 3 program for Traveler’s Diarrhea. She also worked to develop a portfolio for the use of rifamycin SV MMX in additional gastrointestinal diseases. Previously to Santarus Inc, Dr. Petersen-Jappelli was Vice President of Product Development (Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs) at MIGENIX Inc. She has also held development positions at Pfizer, Agouron Pharmaceuticals, and Sandoz (Novartis), and currently sits on the board of Salgomed Inc.

Dr. Petersen-Jappelli commented, “Joining Ritter Pharmaceuticals is an exciting opportunity to be part of a unique and innovative company that is working to treat gastrointestinal disease through the modulation of the gut microbiome. I believe my experience in product development coupled with my research capabilities will be a great combination for this role and I look forward to working with the team as we advance our science, build our product portfolio, and bring therapeutics to market that have the potential to provide significant relief to patients suffering from gastrointestinal diseases.”

Dr. Petersen-Jappelli holds an M.D. from the University of Lausanne, Medical School Lausanne, Switzerland, and a M.Sc. from the University of Lausanne, HEC Lausanne, Switzerland.

About Ritter Pharmaceuticals

Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops novel therapeutic products that modulate the human gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases. Ritter Pharmaceuticals is advancing human gut health research by exploring the metabolic capacity of gut microbiota, and translating the functionality of these microbiome modulators into safe and effective applications. The Company’s lead drug candidate, RP-G28, has the potential to become the first FDA-approved drug for lactose intolerance, a condition that affects more than one billion people worldwide.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of Ritter Pharmaceuticals’ management. Such statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that do not describe historical facts, including but not limited to, statements regarding Dr. Jappelli-Petersen’s expected contributions to Ritter Pharmaceuticals as Chief Medical Officer, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.