ContraFect CEO to Retire, Will Relocate HQ from New York to Massachusetts

YONKERS, NY--(Marketwired - March 22, 2016) - ContraFect Corporation (CFRX)(CFRXW) (the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of protein therapeutics and antibody products for life-threatening drug-resistant infections, today announced that the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Julia P. Gregory, plans to retire. Steven C. Gilman, PhD, the Company's Chairman, will serve as Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective March 21, 2016, until a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed. "I want to thank Julia for her tremendous service as she led the effort to move CF-301, our lead program for Staph aureus bloodstream infections, into clinical development, as well as to establish a strong financial base for ContraFect's ongoing research and development programs. We wish her well in her future endeavors," said Dr. Gilman.

Dr. Sol Barer, ContraFect's lead independent director, said, "I'd like to thank Julia as well as she was instrumental in advancing ContraFect during an important time for the Company."

Dr. Gilman joined the ContraFect Board as Executive Chairman in June 2015 after a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as the Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. in January 2015. Prior to Cubist, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ActivBiotics, a privately held antibacterials company. Dr. Barer commented, "As Chairman, Steve has had the opportunity to be deeply involved in the Company's programs and to get to know the talented ContraFect staff. We are very pleased he has agreed to serve as interim CEO and continue to drive the Company's vision to provide novel treatments for patients with serious bacterial and viral infections as we conduct a global search for a new Chief Executive Officer."

The Company also announced the intent to relocate its corporate headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company's research laboratories will remain in full force at the Yonkers facility. This expansion enables the Company to access pharmaceutical experience from both the New York/New Jersey area, as well as the talent-rich Cambridge/Boston biotech cluster.

About ContraFect

ContraFect is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapeutic protein and antibody products for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, particularly those treated in hospital settings. An estimated 700,000 deaths worldwide each year are attributed to antimicrobial-resistant infections. We intend to address life threatening infections using our therapeutic product candidates from our lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms to target conserved regions of either bacteria or viruses (regions that are not prone to mutation). ContraFect's initial product candidates include new agents to treat antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (drug-resistant Staph aureus bacteria) and influenza.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on ContraFect's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its business, future plans, strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Specific forward-looking statements in this release include without limitation statements regarding the Company's intent to relocate its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Company's vision of providing novel treatments for patients with serious bacterial and viral infections; and the Company's global search for a new Chief Executive Officer. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond ContraFect's control, including without limitation the risk that the Company will not relocate its headquarters; the risk that the Company will not identify a new Chief Executive Officer in the timeframe it expects or at all; and the important factors detailed in ContraFect's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 15, 2016 and its other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement made by ContraFect in this press release is based only on information currently available and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by applicable law, ContraFect expressly disclaims any obligations to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.