WALTHAM, Mass., June 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entasis Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ETTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibacterial products, today announced that David Meek has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Meek will succeed Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D. who will continue to serve as a director on the Board.

“The Board and I are thankful to Dr. Galakatos for providing invaluable guidance to our leadership team as Chairman of the Board over the past several years and we will continue to benefit from his experience,” said Manos Perros, President and Chief Executive Officer of Entasis. “Additionally, we are very pleased to welcome David Meek as our new Chairman, as we develop our late stage clinical candidates through pivotal trials and prepare for commercialization. David brings extensive industry experience to our Board and a strong commercial background in oncology and rare diseases, providing a valuable strategic perspective as we work to successfully develop and commercialize our innovative pathogen-targeted treatments.”

Mr. Meek has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry where he has held various global executive positions at major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Ipsen Pharmaceuticals, a leading multinational pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative medicines in oncology, neuroscience and rare diseases. He also serves on the Board of Directors of uniQure, PhRMA, and EFPIA. Prior to joining Ipsen, Mr. Meek was Executive Vice President and President of the oncology division of Baxalta. Previously, he held executive positions at Endocyte and Novartis. Mr. Meek began his career at Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. He holds a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati.

“I look forward to working closely with the Entasis board and management team and leveraging our collective experiences to build on the strong foundation Nick has established during his tenure as the Chairman of Entasis’ Board,” commented David Meek. “Antimicrobial resistance is a global health issue and Entasis is playing a lead role in developing new therapies. The novel pathogen-targeted medicines in Entasis’ antimicrobial pipeline represent a model-shift in the treatment of severe multi-drug resistant infections and I am excited by the opportunity to help translate our pipeline of programs to a portfolio of successful, life-saving products.”

Dr. Galakatos added, “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the Entasis Board, and I am pleased to transition this role to David. Entasis is a very promising biopharmaceutical company and David is uniquely qualified to provide strategic guidance as we progress our multiple differentiated antimicrobial assets into the final stages of clinical development and prepare for commercialization. I will continue to work closely with the Board and the management team to advance and support the Company's growth.”

About Entasis
Entasis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibacterial products to treat serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Entasis’ pathogen-targeted design platform has produced a pipeline of product candidates, including ETX2514SUL (targeting Acinetobacter baumannii infections), zoliflodacin (targeting Neisseria gonorrhoeae), and ETX0282CPDP (targeting Enterobacteriaceae infections). Entasis is also using its platform to develop a novel class of antibiotics, non-β-lactam inhibitors of the penicillin-binding proteins (NBPs) (targeting Gram-negative infections). For more information, visit www.entasistx.com.

Entasis Company Contact    
Kyle Dow
Entasis Therapeutics
(781) 810-0114
kyle.dow@entasistx.com

Investor Relations Contacts
Tram Bui / Janhavi Mohite
The Ruth Group
(646) 536-7035 / 7026
tbui@theruthgroup.com
jmohite@theruthgroup.com

Media Contact
Kirsten Thomas
The Ruth Group
(508) 280-6592
kthomas@theruthgroup.com

Source: Entasis Therapeutics Holdings Inc.