• Hari Kumar, former CEO of Adheron Therapeutics, Inc. appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors

• Thierry Fumeaux, MD, former member of Swiss National Covid Taskforce, joined Kinarus as new Chief Medical Officer

• Kinarus is preparing additional Phase 2 studies for KIN001 in COVID-19 for out-patients and other therapeutic indications with key unmet medical need such as wet-AMD (ophthalmology) and IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis)

Basel, Switzerland, April 26, 2021. Kinarus AG, a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and owner of KIN001, a differentiated therapeutic candidate for the treatment of multiple diseases with high unmet need, announced today the appointment of Hari Kumar as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Thierry Fumeaux as Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Hari Kumar’s long career took him from Roche to Eisai Ltd where he served as European Marketing Director. He returned to Roche as Global Head of Transplant Immunosuppressives. He subsequently moved to Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2007 as Chief Business Officerbefore becoming Chief Executive Officer of Adheron Therapeutics Inc. In his career, Dr. Kumar oversaw the launch of the immunosuppressive, CellCept®, the Alzheimer’s drug, Aricept® and the gastric ulcer drug, Aciphex®. At Amira, Dr. Kumar led the process that resulted in its acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2011. He also navigated the acquisition of Adheron Therapeutics by Roche, in his role as CEO/ Board member. These transactions have delivered over a billion dollars in returns to investors.

Dr. Thierry Fumeaux, MD, MBA joined Kinarus as its Chief Medical Officer. In his new role, he will lead the Kinarus clinical development programs and the direction of the clinical strategy of the company. Dr. Fumeaux is a specialist in internal and intensive care medicine, with extensive clinical experience as Head of the Intensive Care Unit and the Internal Medicine Department of the hospital of Nyon. He was a member of the Swiss National Covid Scientific Task Force as president of its Clinical Care Expert group. He was also president of the Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine, from 2018 to 2020. The successful addition of these two experienced industry executives to the Kinarus team marks a further key step in the build-out of Kinarus.

Just two weeks ago, Kinarus announced enrolment of the first patient in its recently launched Phase 2 clinical trial of KIN001 in COVID-19 hospitalized patients. The Swiss biopharmaceutical company plans additional clinical programs to evaluate KIN001 for treatment of patients with age-related macular degeneration (wet-AMD) as well as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Incoming Chairman Hari Kumar remarked that “Kinarus has made an exceptionally good start into the new year. I am very honored to join this exciting Swiss biopharmaceutical company and look forward to leading and supporting Kinarus and its team into a promising future.”

About Kinarus

Kinarus AG is a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing differentiated treatments to patients suffering from viral, respiratory or ophthalmic diseases. Kinarus’ differentiated therapeutic candidate KIN001 has broad potential to transform numerous therapeutic areas. The company has patent protected and is preparing the application of KIN001 in multiple indications with important unmet medical needs. Swiss-based Kinarus is privately owned. The Board of Directors of the company is currently evaluating different financing options.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.kinarus.com.

Alexander Bausch,
CEO, Kinarus AG
E-Mail: Alexander.Bausch@kinarus.com