Emeryville, CA., August 12, 2019 – Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: DVAX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing novel vaccines, today announced Andrew A. F. Hack, M.D., Ph.D., a Managing Director at Bain Capital Life Sciences, has been appointed to Dynavax’s Board of Directors. The appointment follows an investment by Bain Capital Life Sciences in Dynavax’s recently completed public offering.
“We are pleased to welcome Andrew to our Board of Directors at this important time in Dynavax’s development as a commercial-stage vaccine company,” said Arnold L. Oronsky, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dynavax. “As a highly respected and proven leader with extensive capital markets and biotechnology industry experience, Andrew is a strong strategic addition to our team. I’m confident that his valuable expertise will contribute significantly to Dynavax’s transformation.”
“It’s a privilege to join the Board and to help build Dynavax into a leading vaccine company,” said Dr. Hack. “HEPLISAV-B is well positioned to become the market leader and the standard of care for adult hepatitis B vaccination and I look forward to partnering with the Board and Management to help ensure Dynavax’s success at this critical time in the Company’s evolution.”
Dr. Hack is a Managing Director at Bain Capital Life Sciences, a private equity fund that invests in biopharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, and enabling life science technology companies globally. Dr. Hack served as Chief Financial Officer of Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT), from July 2015 to March 2019. Prior to joining Editas, he was a portfolio manager at Millennium Management LLC, an institutional asset manager, where he ran a healthcare fund focused on biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. Before joining Millennium, Dr. Hack was a healthcare analyst at HealthCor Management, L.P., a registered investment advisor. Previously, he served as a healthcare analyst for hedge fund Carlyle-Blue Wave Partners and as principal of the MPM BioEquities Fund, a hedge fund that was affiliated with MPM Capital. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hack was Director of Life Sciences and co-founder of Reify Corporation, a life science tools and drug discovery company. Dr. Hack serves as a director of Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNA) and Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRSN). He received his B.A. in biology with special honors from the University of Chicago, where he also received his M.D. and Ph.D.
About Dynavax
Dynavax is a biopharmaceutical company focused on leveraging the power of the body's innate and adaptive immune responses through toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation. Dynavax discovers, develops and commercializes novel vaccines. The Company launched its first commercial product, HEPLISAV-B® [Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant), Adjuvanted], in February 2018, following U.S. FDA approval for prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in adults age 18 years and older. For more information, visit www.dynavax.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding HEPLISAV-B. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations, are subject to known and unknown risks, and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks related to Dynavax’s ability to successfully commercialize HEPLISAV-B, which among other things will require Dynavax to successfully negotiate and enter into contracts with wholesalers, distributors, group purchasing organizations, and other parties, and maintain those contractual relationships, maintain and build its commercial infrastructure, and access prescribers and other key health care providers to discuss HEPLISAV-B; risks related to market adoption and competing therapies; and risks related to whether payors will cover and provide timely and adequate reimbursement for HEPLISAV-B. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in Dynavax’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 under the heading “Risk Factors”. Dynavax undertakes no obligation to revise or update information herein to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.
