BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK) (“Anika” or the “Company”), a global, integrated orthopedic and regenerative medicines company specializing in therapeutics based on its proprietary hyaluronic acid (“HA”) technology, today announced that Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Keratin Biosciences, Inc., has been appointed as a new independent member of the Company’s Board of Directors with a term continuing through the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. With Dr. Blanchard’s appointment, the Board of Directors has been expanded to seven directors.

“With more than 30 years of leadership and board experience in medical devices and biotechnology, Cheryl is an outstanding addition to Anika’s Board,” said Joseph L. Bower, Chairman of the Board. “We are committed to strong corporate governance. We continue to actively evaluate the composition of our Board to ensure we have the right mix of expertise, independence, and experience to best position Anika for the future.”

“Cheryl has an impressive track record of delivering strong business results, and I am pleased she is joining Anika’s Board,” said Joseph G. Darling, President and CEO of Anika. “As we undergo a shift from palliative care to regenerative medicine, we could not imagine someone better qualified than Cheryl to help guide us through our next phase. As President and CEO of a drug delivery and regenerative medicine company, she understands the path forward and brings to the table considerable experience in corporate strategy, R&D, commercialization, strategic partnerships, regulatory, clinical and quality, operations, manufacturing, marketing, and fundraising. We welcome her insights as we develop and implement our five-year strategic plan to deliver and sustain double-digit revenue growth beginning in 2019 and beyond.”

“This is an exciting time to join the Anika Board,” said Dr. Blanchard. “I have followed Anika’s growth through the years and have a deep appreciation for the Company’s world-class talent, versatile and proprietary technology platform, and diverse commercial portfolio with an exciting pipeline. I look forward to working closely with the Anika team to effect a transformation that continues to deliver solutions to help patients heal naturally and faster and that builds value for its shareholders.”

Consistent with the Company’s commitment to strong corporate governance, the Anika Board is underway in identifying an additional director who will be joining the Board in the coming months.

Dr. Blanchard currently serves as President and CEO of Keratin Biosciences, Inc., a venture-backed biotech company developing regenerative medicine and drug delivery therapies based on a purified human-derived keratin technology platform. She also serves as a director of SeaSpine Holdings Corporation, CeramTec GMBH, Elute, and Bio2 Technologies, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and advises a number of venture and private equity clients.

Previously, she served in a number of leadership roles, including Sr. Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer and GM, Biologics, at Zimmer, Inc., a worldwide healthcare leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of orthopedic implants.

Dr. Blanchard holds 32 patents, many of which are used in commercial applications, and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. She holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University, and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

About Anika Therapeutics, Inc.

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK) is a global, integrated orthopedic and regenerative medicines company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. Anika is committed to improving the lives of patients with degenerative orthopedic diseases and traumatic conditions with clinically meaningful therapies along the continuum of care, from palliative pain management to regenerative tissue repair. The Company has over two decades of global expertise developing, manufacturing, and commercializing more than 20 products based on its proprietary hyaluronic acid (HA) technology. Anika’s orthopedic medicine portfolio includes ORTHOVISC^®, MONOVISC^®, and CINGAL^®, which alleviate pain and restore joint function by replenishing depleted HA, and HYALOFAST, a solid HA-based scaffold to aid cartilage repair and regeneration. For more information about Anika, please visit www.anikatherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
The statements made in the last sentence of the third paragraph and the fifth paragraph of this press release, which are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, those relating to the Company’s future revenue expectations and the composition of the Company’s Board of Directors. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including the availability of suitable director candidates. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from any anticipated future results, performance, or achievements described in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors including, but not limited to, (i) the Company’s ability to successfully commence and/or complete clinical trials of its products on a timely basis or at all; (ii) the Company’s ability to obtain pre-clinical or clinical data to support domestic and international pre-market approval applications, 510(k) applications, or new drug applications, or to timely file and receive FDA or other regulatory approvals or clearances of its products; (iii) that such approvals will not be obtained in a timely manner or without the need for additional clinical trials, other testing or regulatory submissions, as applicable; (iv) the Company’s research and product development efforts and their relative success, including whether we have any meaningful sales of any new products resulting from such efforts; (v) the cost effectiveness and efficiency of the Company’s clinical studies, manufacturing operations, and production planning; (vi) the strength of the economies in which the Company operates or will be operating, as well as the political stability of any of those geographic areas; (vii) future determinations by the Company to allocate resources to products and in directions not presently contemplated; (viii) the Company’s ability to successfully commercialize its products, in the U.S. and abroad; (ix) the Company’s ability to provide an adequate and timely supply of its products to its customers; and (x) the Company’s ability to achieve its growth targets. Additional factors and risks are described in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and they are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are made based on information available to the Company on the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release.

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