Ziopharm sees stock decline based partly on regulatory, clinical timeline climate

Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), a biotechnology company focused on development of next generation immunotherapies utilizing gene- and cell-based therapies to treat patients with cancer, today responded to the recent stock price decline and announced it expects to add new members to the Company’s Board of Directors and expand its management team.

“Over the past year, our Controlled IL-12 and Sleeping Beautycell therapy platform technologies have progressed, providing a strong scientific foundation for the Company. We believe the recent stock price decline is based in part on uncertainly about our regulatory and clinical timelines, but we assure our shareholders that we are encouraged and confident in advanced partnering discussions and see real opportunity to accelerate our clinical programs,” said Sir Murray Brennan, M.D., Lead Director and Chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. “In the meantime, we have engaged in a formal process to evaluate, recruit and add Board members, and we plan to expand management to assist CEO Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., and the management team to maximize the value of our Controlled IL-12 and Sleeping Beauty platforms.”

Ziopharm Director Scott Tarriff, CEO of Eagle Pharmaceuticals, added, “Despite the recent request from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more information before allowing our phase 1 clinical trial to move forward, I remain excited about the future of Ziopharm and the significant therapeutic potential of our CAR-T, TCR-T and Controlled IL-12 candidates and the value each of these hold for our shareholders and current and future strategic partners. In the coming weeks, we expect to provide additional guidance on our plans to move this trial forward. In addition to new directors to guide the company, we also are exploring additions to the management team to add bandwidth and capabilities to the team.”

The Company also announced it will hold its annual meeting of stockholders on Sept.18, 2018, one day earlier than previously planned. The annual meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Eastern time in New York City.

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