Neurotrope Appoints Charles S. Ramat and Paul Freiman as Co-Chairman of the Board
– Neurotrope creates Office of the Chairman with Messrs. Ramat and Freiman as Co-Chairman of the Board. Dr. John Abeles to Remain on Board –
Plantation, FL. – June 19, 2014 – Neurotrope, Inc. (OTCQB: NTRP) has appointed Messrs. Charles S. Ramat and Paul Freiman as Co-Chairmen of its Board of Directors. Mr. Freiman previously served as a Director of the Company. Dr. John Abeles, a Company founder and former Chairman, remains on Neurotrope’s Board of Directors with an additional role in corporate development activities.
“Charles and Paul are excellent choices for the role of Co-Chairman for Neurotrope,” said former Chairman John Abeles. “While I have truly enjoyed serving as the Chair since the Company’s inception, it is time for a change, due to the now more operative phase of the Company’s development, and I am delighted to be passing the Board leadership to them. As Neurotrope continues to advance its clinical pipeline of products for Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, their recognized leadership will be invaluable in helping the Company to be strategically positioned and effectively respond to today’s healthcare environment.”
“I am extremely excited to formally join Neurotrope’s Board of Directors as Co-Chairman,” stated Mr. Ramat. “I have been working closely with Jim New, our CEO, Paul Freiman, my Co-Chairman and Dan Alkon, our CSO, for over a year and greatly look forward to collaborating with them further. We are entering a very promising time in the Company’s short history as we continue to expand our management team and further the development of Neurotrope’s therapeutic and diagnostic products. I thank Dr. Abeles for his vision and tireless efforts to-date, in initiating and bringing the Company to a place where it is continuing to develop its principal technologies and products.”
Mr. Ramat is currently a private investor and has extensive operational and general business experience in several industries including: biotechnology, medical devices, commercial finance, real estate and mobile communications. Until December 2013, Mr. Ramat was a principal investor and consultant to Continental Home Loans, the third largest FHA mortgage originator in New York State, with operations in 22 states and with annual originations and servicing portfolio both in excess of $1 billion. Since 2006, he has developed land, principally 1,000 acres of private gated communities, with a strong emphasis on environmentally friendly practices, in upstate New York. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Ramat was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Kushner Companies, managing 25,000 apartment units and a commercial portfolio exceeding five million square feet.
From 1988 to 2002, Mr. Ramat was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aris Industries, Inc., a publicly traded apparel maker. Aris owned and licensed several major apparel brands and Mr. Ramat was active in the Company’s branding effort both domestically and internationally. During this tenure, annual sales rose from under $50 million to more than $400 million. Prior to 1988, Mr. Ramat had acquired various luxury residential buildings in Manhattan where he executed co-op conversions resulting in over $100 million in sales. Also, he was a principal in United Restaurant Corporation which held significant national restaurant franchise rights and a Vice President at Landall Corporation, a publicly-traded real estate development company.
Mr. Ramat has served on various business company boards, philanthropies and trade organizations. Mr. Ramat graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Yeshiva University and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School.
Mr. Freiman is currently an independent pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry consultant. He serves as Chairman of Chronix BioMedical and is a member of the NovaBay Pharmaceutical Board of Directors. In the past, Mr. Frieman served on the Boards of Otsuka America, Inc. and several biotechnology companies based in the United States and Singapore. Prior to his current consulting and board member roles, Mr. Freiman was a partner of Burrill Brasil Investimentos based in Rio de Janiero. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. (OTC: NTII) and as a member of its Board of Directors.
Mr. Freiman also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Syntex Corporation which was sold to The Roche Group for $5.3 billion during his tenure. He is credited with much of the marketing success of Syntex’s lead product, Naprosyn®, and was responsible for moving the product to over-the-counter status, marketed as Aleve®. Aleve® currently generates approximately $400 million in annual revenues worldwide.
Mr. Freiman served as Chairman of the Board for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PhRMA). He served on a number of industry task forces both domestically and internationally. He also served as Chairman of the University of California (UCSF) Foundation, The United Way of Silicon Valley and a number of not-for-profit organizations over the years.
Mr. Freiman received a B.S. in pharmacy from Fordham University and an honorary doctorate from the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy.
About Neurotrope
Neurotrope was formed in October 2012 to develop and market two product platforms: a drug candidate called bryostatin for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, and; a minimally invasive biomarker analysis system for the diagnosis of this disease. A Phase 2a study with bryostatin in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease is scheduled to commence in June 2014. Both of these programs are being progressed in collaboration with Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI), which has licensed this technology to Neurotrope. The Company is also leveraging several other of BRNI’s proprietary research advances towards the near-term initiation of new clinical studies looking at other high value central nervous system targets that present neurodegeneration as a core part of their pathology. Both the preclinical and clinical efforts of Neurotrope are focused on the development of conventional small molecules that are extraordinarily potent in the activation of the enzyme PKCepsilon, which has been shown to play a central role in orchestrating the expression of a number of neurotrophic proteins that aid the process of neuroregeneration. More technical information on this promising approach to treat a variety of neurodegenerative diseases can be found on the Company’s website.
Please visit www.neurotropebioscience.com for further information.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding (i) the plans and objectives of management for future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the development of commercially viable pharmaceuticals, (ii) a projection of income (including income/loss), earnings (including earnings/loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, (iii) the Company’s future financial performance and (iv) the assumptions underlying or relating to any statement described in points (i), (ii) or (iii) above. Such forward-looking statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results, performance, events or circumstances and may not be realized because they are based upon the Company’s current projections, plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other influences, many of which the Company has no control over. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors that may influence or contribute to the inaccuracy of the forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ materially from expected or desired results may include, without limitation, the Company’s inability to obtain adequate financing, the significant length of time associated with drug development and related insufficient cash flows and resulting illiquidity, the Company’s inability to expand the Company’s business, significant government regulation of pharmaceuticals and the healthcare industry, lack of product diversification, volatility in the price of the Company’s raw materials, existing or increased competition, results of arbitration and litigation, stock volatility and illiquidity, and the Company’s failure to implement the Company’s business plans or strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.
For additional information, please contact:
Robert Weinstein
Chief Financial Officer
(914) 295-2765
rweinstein@neurotropebioscience.com
