Claritas (formerly Kalytera Therapeutics, Inc.) Announces Addition of Professor Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Ph.D. to the Company’s Board of Directors
03/05/2021 - 08:30 AM
Dr. Cuzzocrea’s Appointment Expands the Company’s Expertise in Field of Nitric Oxide Therapeutics
SAN FRANCISCO and TORONTO, March 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Claritas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TSX VENTURE: KLY and OTC: KALTF) (the "Company " or "Claritas ") today announced the addition of Professor Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Ph.D. as an independent member of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”), effective immediately.
Dr. Cuzzocrea is an acknowledged expert in the science and clinical use of nitric oxide therapy, and his appointment to the Board of Directors will position the Company as a leader in the field of nitric oxide therapeutics.
“We are delighted to add Dr. Cuzzocrea to the Company’s Board of Directors,” stated Robert Farrell, President and CEO. “We are eager to begin work with Dr. Cuzzocrea on development of R-107, our proprietary nitric oxide releasing compound that is being developed as a treatment for coronavirus, vaccine-resistant COVID-19, and other viral infections. With his deep experience and knowledge regarding nitric oxide and R-107, he will be a strong strategic resource for Claritas. We look forward to the contributions he will make.”
Nitric oxide has been demonstrated to be effective against a wide variety of viruses. Nevertheless, nitric oxide has not been developed as an antiviral agent due to the fact that it is a gas that must be administered by inhalation therapy, which requires special inhalation equipment and administration by trained respiratory therapists. R-107 is a liquid, nitric oxide releasing compound designed to overcome these issues. R-107 can be easily administered orally as a capsule, or nasally through use of a nasal spray, or by injection. Claritas will not only develop R-107 as a therapy for vaccine-resistant COVID-9 infection, but also as a broad-spectrum antiviral drug for the treatment and possible prevention of future viral outbreaks, including viruses that cause influenza and the common cold.
Dr. Cuzzocrea, the former President of the European Shock Society, is an internationally renowned authority and leader on the biology and pathophysiology of nitric oxide. He currently serves in numerous leadership roles at the University of Messina in Sicily, including Director of Scientific Research, Director of the Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Director of the Oncology Unit at the University Hospital of Messina, and Full Professor of Pharmacology at the University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Cuzzocrea has been awarded honorary Professorships in Pharmacology at the University of Manchester and Saint Louis University, was elected a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society, and has been appointed as an Honorary Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Department of Experimental Medicine and Nephrology at The William Harvey Institute at St. Bartholomew’s and Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry. In 2020, Professor Cuzzocrea was elected Vice-President of the Board of the Conference of Rectors of all Italian universities.
Dr. Cuzzocrea received his undergraduate and graduate medical education at the University of Messina, followed by doctoral studies at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the William Harvey Institute in London. He is the author of more than 759 peer-reviewed publications and books, and is an international leader in the fields of autoimmunity, inflammation, toxic inhalational lung injury, and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Cuzzocrea’s research interests include the role of nitric oxide in the pathophysiology and treatment of pulmonary inflammation and cytokine storm associated acute lung injury, and the identification of new potential pharmacological targets for nitric oxide in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Dr. Cuzzocrea brings expert knowledge of R-107 to Claritas, having carried out more than 40 studies of this molecule in the treatment of experimental models of acute lung injury, pulmonary arterial hypertension, wound healing, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and multiple organ failure in sepsis and endotoxic shock. Dr. Cuzzocrea is an authority also on the biological mechanisms of cytokine-storm induced acute lung injury, and thus is ideally positioned to understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease and its amelioration by supplemental provision of nitric oxide by administration of R-107.
About Claritas Pharmaceuticals
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This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation in respect of its product candidate pipeline, planned clinical trials, regulatory approval prospects, intellectual property objectives, and other statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the ris k that future clinical studies may not proceed as expected or may produce unfavorable results. Claritas undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Claritas believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Claritas’ control. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Claritas disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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