Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Epstein and Simpson bring significant life sciences industry expertise that will be integral to the Company’s continued growth as a leader in AI for genomic medicineSEATTLE, June 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shape Therapeutics, Inc. (ShapeTX), a leader at the convergence of AI and RNA editing to revolutionize genomic medicine, announces the appointments of David Epstein, former CEO of Seagen, and Todd Simpson, former CFO of Seagen, to its board of directors. “We are at a pivotal moment where our investment in breakthrough technologies is now yielding industry-leading results. As we prepare to advance our RNA editing therapies to the clinic, we are thrilled to welcome David and Todd to our board," said Francois Vigneault, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ShapeTX. "Their expertise in scaling life sciences companies, from drug development to clinical success and commercialization, will be invaluable.” David Epstein is a highly respected leader in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, renowned for steering Seagen towards a pivotal $44.5 billion acquisition by Pfizer. With over 30 years of global experience in drug development, commercialization, and leadership, David has previously served as an executive partner at Flagship Pioneering and as CEO of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, including its Oncology and Molecular Diagnostic units, transforming it into the second-largest oncology division globally. He has overseen the development and launch of more than 30 new molecular entities, including notable treatments such as Glivec, Tasigna, Gilenya, Afinitor, Cosentyx, Entresto and Padcev. David holds a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University and an MBA from Columbia University. He also serves on the boards of Tempus AI and Valo Health. "Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to be part of companies at the forefront of scientific innovation, witnessing firsthand the profound impact on patients and families." said David Epstein. "Shape has married AI, superior engineering and efficient manufacturing to cure horrific CNS and retinal disease with revolutionary AI RNA-targeted therapy, and I am eager to contribute my experience to accelerate their growth.” Todd Simpson brings more than 40 years of diverse life sciences and industry experience to the ShapeTX board. During his nearly two decades at Seagen, Todd played a crucial role in launching and commercializing four oncology medicines across more than a dozen labeled indications in the United States. He also spearheaded Seagen's international expansion, leading to the commercialization of three medicines in the Americas and Europe. Before Seagen, Todd held several leadership roles, including VP of Finance and Administration, CFO, Treasurer, Secretary at Targeted Genetics Corp. and worked almost ten years in public accounting. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Oregon State University and has served on the boards of Neoleukin Therapeutics, Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Life Science Washington (formerly Washington Biotech and Biomedical Association). "I see remarkable similarities between ShapeTX and the early days of Seagen. It's refreshing and invigorating to work with a team dedicated to long-term, platform-based therapeutic innovation and driven by a mission to help patients in need," said Todd Simpson. About ShapeTX: Shape Therapeutics operates at the convergence of AI and RNA editing to revolutionize genomic medicine. Our proprietary RNA editing technology, RNAfix®, represents a significant leap forward over CRISPR-based tools, achieving 95% editing efficiency in vivo, and a path to one-time curative treatments for thousands of diseases. With over 90 million laboratory-validated guide RNA and 12 billion AAV data points, ShapeTX is building the largest therapeutic RNA foundation model in the industry and becoming the leader in AI for genomic medicine. You can find us at ShapeTX.com and on LinkedIn and X. Media Contact: Lisa Ash TaylorGeneral Counsel and Head of OperationsShape Therapeuticslisa@shapetx.com

CALGARY, Alberta, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XORTX Therapeutics Inc. ("XORTX" or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XRTX | TSXV: XRTX | Frankfurt: ANUA WKN: A3UNZ), a late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat progressive kidney disease, welcomes Abigail Jenkins, a biotech industry veteran with deep experience with the commercialization of therapies for renal and cardiovascular disease, to its Board of Directors. Abigail “Abbey” L. Jenkins, M.S., is the current President and CEO of Gamida Cell (NASDAQ: GMDA) and a member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Jenkins brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry delivering life-enhancing therapies from research to commercialization for patients in need. Prior to joining Gamida Cell, she was the Chief Commercial and Business Officer at Lyndra Therapeutics, where she established and led global commercial, business development, corporate strategy and portfolio management across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to Lyndra, she held the positon of Senior Vice President and Business Unit Head of Vaccines at Emergent BioSolutions, where she oversaw Lyndra’s largest therapeutic division from discovery through commercialization. Ms. Jenkins also served as Chief Commercial Officer and U.S. Business Head at Aquinox Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, she has held senior commercial and business development positions at Relypsa, Actavis, Pfizer and Medimmune/AZ. Ms. Jenkins holds a Master of Science in biotechnology and biotech business enterprise from Johns Hopkins University, a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and biology from Indiana University, and a certificate of achievement in General Management as a Kellogg Executive Scholar. She was recognized in 2022 as one of the PharmaVoice 100, one of the industry’s 100 Most Inspiring Leaders, Disrupter category, for change agents who define excellence in leadership in biopharma. Anthony Giovinazzo, XORTX’s Chairman of the Board commented, “We are delighted to welcome Abbey to the Board of Directors. Abbey is a highly skilled and experienced leader who will significantly contribute to the Board of Directors carrying out its mandate. Her experience with innovative drug delivery systems and the launches of novel therapeutics will be extremely valuable to the Company as it navigates from a Phase 3 clinical company to being prepared for commercialization of its drug candidates.” In connection with the appointment of Abigail Jenkins, XORTX has granted, in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan, 8,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $5.00 for a period of five years. About XORTX Therapeutics Inc. XORTX is a pharmaceutical company with two clinically advanced products in development: 1) our lead, XRx-008 program for ADPKD; and 2) our secondary program in XRx-101 for acute kidney and other acute organ injury associated with Coronavirus / COVID-19 infection. In addition, XRx-225 is a pre-clinical stage program for Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy. XORTX is working to advance its clinical development stage products that target aberrant purine metabolism and xanthine oxidase to decrease or inhibit production of uric acid. At XORTX, we are dedicated to developing medications to improve the quality of life and future health of patients. Additional information on XORTX is available at www.xortx.com. For more information, please contact: Allen Davidoff, CEONick Rigopulos, Director of Communicationsadavidoff@xortx.com or +1 403 455 7727nick@alpineequityadv.com or +1 617 901 0785 Kim Golodetz, LHA Investor Relations kgolodetz@lhai.com or 1 212 838 3777 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor Nasdaq has approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements pursuant to applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements and their implications are based on the current expectations of the management of XORTX only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable law and stock exchange rules, XORTX undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting XORTX is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in XORTX’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC, which is available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov (including any documents forming a part thereof or incorporated by reference therein), as well as in our reports, public disclosure documents and other filings with the securities commissions and other regulatory bodies in Canada, which are available on www.sedarplus.ca.

CALGARY, Alberta, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XORTX Therapeutics Inc. ("XORTX" or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XRTX | TSXV: XRTX | Frankfurt: ANUA WKN: A3UNZ), a late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat progressive kidney disease, welcomes Abigail Jenkins, a biotech industry veteran with deep experience with the commercialization of therapies for renal and cardiovascular disease, to its Board of Directors. Abigail “Abbey” L. Jenkins, M.S., is the current President and CEO of Gamida Cell (NASDAQ: GMDA) and a member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Jenkins brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry delivering life-enhancing therapies from research to commercialization for patients in need. Prior to joining Gamida Cell, she was the Chief Commercial and Business Officer at Lyndra Therapeutics, where she established and led global commercial, business development, corporate strategy and portfolio management across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to Lyndra, she held the positon of Senior Vice President and Business Unit Head of Vaccines at Emergent BioSolutions, where she oversaw Lyndra’s largest therapeutic division from discovery through commercialization. Ms. Jenkins also served as Chief Commercial Officer and U.S. Business Head at Aquinox Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, she has held senior commercial and business development positions at Relypsa, Actavis, Pfizer and Medimmune/AZ. Ms. Jenkins holds a Master of Science in biotechnology and biotech business enterprise from Johns Hopkins University, a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and biology from Indiana University, and a certificate of achievement in General Management as a Kellogg Executive Scholar. She was recognized in 2022 as one of the PharmaVoice 100, one of the industry’s 100 Most Inspiring Leaders, Disrupter category, for change agents who define excellence in leadership in biopharma. Anthony Giovinazzo, XORTX’s Chairman of the Board commented, “We are delighted to welcome Abbey to the Board of Directors. Abbey is a highly skilled and experienced leader who will significantly contribute to the Board of Directors carrying out its mandate. Her experience with innovative drug delivery systems and the launches of novel therapeutics will be extremely valuable to the Company as it navigates from a Phase 3 clinical company to being prepared for commercialization of its drug candidates.” In connection with the appointment of Abigail Jenkins, XORTX has granted, in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan, 8,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $5.00 for a period of five years. About XORTX Therapeutics Inc. XORTX is a pharmaceutical company with two clinically advanced products in development: 1) our lead, XRx-008 program for ADPKD; and 2) our secondary program in XRx-101 for acute kidney and other acute organ injury associated with Coronavirus / COVID-19 infection. In addition, XRx-225 is a pre-clinical stage program for Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy. XORTX is working to advance its clinical development stage products that target aberrant purine metabolism and xanthine oxidase to decrease or inhibit production of uric acid. At XORTX, we are dedicated to developing medications to improve the quality of life and future health of patients. Additional information on XORTX is available at . For more information, please contact: Allen Davidoff, CEO Nick Rigopulos, Director of Communications adavidoff@xortx.com or +1 403 455 7727 nick@alpineequityadv.com or +1 617 901 0785 Kim Golodetz, LHA Investor Relations kgolodetz@lhai.com or 1 212 838 3777 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor Nasdaq has approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements pursuant to applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements and their implications are based on the current expectations of the management of XORTX only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by applicable law and stock exchange rules, XORTX undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting XORTX is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in XORTX’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC, which is available on the SEC's website, (including any documents forming a part thereof or incorporated by reference therein), as well as in our reports, public disclosure documents and other filings with the securities commissions and other regulatory bodies in Canada, which are available on .