Pliant Therapeutics Appoints Mike Ouimette as General Counsel

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.. (Nasdaq: PLRX), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis, today announced the appointment of Mike Ouimette as general counsel and corporate secretary of the company.

"Mike is an accomplished biotech executive who brings deep legal and regulatory experience, as well as deal making expertise to Pliant," said Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Pliant Therapeutics. "He shares our team's passion to advance our lead programs into the clinic and transform the lives of people living with fibrotic diseases."

Mr. Ouimette brings more than 20 years of legal experience to the company, most recently serving as vice president and assistant secretary of Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. prior to the acquisition of Portola by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Ouimette  also served as senior corporate counsel and assistant secretary of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., prior to the acquisition of Onyx by Amgen Inc. Prior to Onyx, Mr. Ouimette was a partner in the San Francisco office of the international law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where his practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital formation, and other public company and regulatory matters. Mr. Ouimette received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, and A.B. from University of California, Davis.

About Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.
Pliant Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis. Pliant's lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small-molecule dual selective inhibitor of a_vß₆ and a_vß₁ integrins that is in development for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC. PLN-74809 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for both IPF and PSC. Pliant is currently recruiting Phase 2a trials of PLN-74809 for the treatment of IPF and PSC.  Pliant's second product candidate, PLN-1474, is a small-molecule selective inhibitor of a_vß₁ for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which Pliant has partnered with Novartis. PLN-1474 is currently undergoing a Phase 1 trial. In addition to clinical stage programs, Pliant currently has two preclinical programs targeting oncology and muscular dystrophies.

Investor Contact:
ir@pliantrx.com

Media Contact:
Cambria Fuqua
Canale Communications
(619) 849-5390
cambria.fuqua@canalecomm.com

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SOURCE Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.