Longeveron® Appoints Than Powell as Chief Business Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Longeveron (NASDAQ: LGVN), a clinical stage regenerative medicine biotech company, has appointed Than Powell as Chief Business Officer, effective July 7, 2025. Powell will lead the company's business strategy, focusing on Alzheimer's disease program partnering and international strategy for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) program.

Powell brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech leadership experience from companies including GSK and Eli Lilly. The appointment comes at a crucial time as Longeveron recently completed enrollment in its pivotal Phase 2 trial for laromestorcel, with top-line data expected in approximately 13 months. If positive, these results would support the company's first Biological License Application (BLA) submission.

• Mr. Powell to oversee Longeveron’s partnering and international strategy efforts
  

MIAMI, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Longeveron Inc. (NASDAQ: LGVN), a clinical stage regenerative medicine biotechnology company developing cellular therapies for life-threatening and chronic aging-related conditions, today announced that it has appointed Than Powell as Chief Business Officer, effective July 7, 2025. In this role, he will lead the Company’s overall business strategy, Alzheimer’s disease program partnering efforts, and international strategy for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) program.

“We are delighted to have Than join Longeveron at this transformational time in the Company’s development,” said Wa’el Hashad, Chief Executive Officer at Longeveron. “With the recent completion of enrollment of our pivotal Phase 2 trial evaluating our stem cell therapy laromestorcel for HLHS, we are approximately 13 months from top-line data, which, if positive, would be the foundation for the company’s first Biological License Application (BLA) submission. Than’s experience across multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will help guide Longeveron’s efforts to build on the clinical success of laromestorcel to date through partnering strategy for Alzheimer’s disease and international strategy for HLHS.”

"I am thrilled to join Longeveron,” said Than Powell, Chief Business Officer at Longeveron. “The scientific rigor and ground-breaking innovation at the heart of Longeveron’s stem cell research is inspiring, especially as my family has been impacted by some of the diseases they are studying. I look forward to delivering on the Company’s mission and supporting the potential approval of stem cell therapies for patients and their families."

Mr. Powell has over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech leadership across multiple industry leading organizations, including GSK and Eli Lilly. Prior to Longeveron, Mr. Powell led Corporate Development & Strategy for Surescripts, ultimately resulting in the company’s acquisition by TPG. Before that role, Mr. Powell was founder and CEO of Epulate, a venture-backed health technology company focused on Transplant Immunology.

Mr. Powell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from DePauw University and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.

About Longeveron Inc.
Longeveron is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing regenerative medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company’s lead investigational product is laromestrocel (Lomecel-B™), an allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy product isolated from the bone marrow of young, healthy adult donors. Laromestrocel has multiple potential mechanisms of action encompassing pro-vascular, pro-regenerative, anti-inflammatory, and tissue repair and healing effects with broad potential applications across a spectrum of disease areas. Longeveron is currently pursuing three pipeline indications: hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), Alzheimer’s disease, and Aging-related Frailty. Laromestrocel development programs have received five distinct and important FDA designations: for the HLHS program - Orphan Drug designation, Fast Track designation, and Rare Pediatric Disease designation; and, for the AD program - Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation and Fast Track designation. For more information, visit www.longeveron.com or follow Longeveron on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect management’s current expectations, assumptions, and estimates of future operations, performance and economic conditions, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed, or implied by the statements made herein. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expects,” “intend,” “looks to,” “may,” “on condition,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “preliminary,” “project,” “see,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussion of strategy or goals or other future events, circumstances, or effects and include, but are not limited to, statements about the various below-listed factors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, our cash position and need to raise additional capital, the difficulties we may face in obtaining access to capital, and the dilutive impact it may have on our investors; our financial performance, and ability to continue as a going concern; the period over which we estimate our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our future operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements; the ability of our clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy of our product candidates, and other positive results; the timing and focus of our ongoing and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, and the reporting of data from those studies and trials; the size of the market opportunity for certain of our product candidates, including our estimates of the number of patients who suffer from the diseases we are targeting; our ability to scale production and commercialize the product candidate for certain indications; the success of competing therapies that are or may become available; the beneficial characteristics, safety, efficacy and therapeutic effects of our product candidates; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates in the U.S. and other jurisdictions; our plans relating to the further development of our product candidates, including additional disease states or indications we may pursue; our plans and ability to obtain or protect intellectual property rights, including extensions of existing patent terms where available and our ability to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others; the need to hire additional personnel and our ability to attract and retain such personnel; and our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing.

Further information relating to factors that may impact the Company’s results and forward-looking statements are disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Longeveron’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2025, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company operates in highly competitive and rapidly changing environment; therefore, new factors may arise, and it is not possible for the Company’s management to predict all such factors that may arise nor assess the impact of such factors or the extent to which any individual factor or combination thereof, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release based on information available as of the date of this press release, are inherently uncertain, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation, other than imposed by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Investor and Media Contact:
Derek Cole
Investor Relations Advisory Solutions
derek.cole@iradvisory.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59470556-6cdc-4e00-86da-f80b4621b8da

FAQ

Who is Than Powell and what is his new role at Longeveron (NASDAQ: LGVN)?

Than Powell has been appointed as Chief Business Officer at Longeveron, effective July 7, 2025. He will lead the company's business strategy, Alzheimer's disease program partnering efforts, and international strategy for the HLHS program.

What is the status of Longeveron's (LGVN) laromestorcel Phase 2 trial?

Longeveron has completed enrollment in its pivotal Phase 2 trial for laromestorcel in HLHS treatment, with top-line data expected in approximately 13 months. If positive, the results would support the company's first BLA submission.

What is Than Powell's professional background before joining Longeveron?

Powell has over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech leadership experience, including positions at GSK and Eli Lilly. He previously led Corporate Development & Strategy at Surescripts and was founder/CEO of Epulate, a venture-backed health technology company.

What are the main strategic priorities for Longeveron's new Chief Business Officer?

The main priorities include leading overall business strategy, developing partnering efforts for the Alzheimer's disease program, and implementing international strategy for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) program.