Exhibit 99.1
Fortress Biotech Announces Appointment of Kevin L. Lorenz, J.D., to Board of Directors
New York, NY – August 19, 2019 – Fortress Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ: FBIO) (“Fortress”), an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, in-licensing and developing high-potential marketed and development-stage drugs and drug candidates, today announced that Kevin L. Lorenz, J.D., has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Mr. Lorenz, Chief Investment Officer, Senior Vice President, Treasury & Private Investments at the Katz Group, is an accomplished executive with over 25 years of experience guiding and implementing investment strategy across public and private companies. The Katz Group, which is one of Canada’s leading privately-owned enterprises, owns 4,675,000 common shares of Fortress stock, or 6.9% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock.
Lindsay A. Rosenwald, M.D., Fortress’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Lorenz to Fortress’ Board of Directors. The breadth of his business acumen and financial expertise will be valuable additions to our board.”
Since 2015, Mr. Lorenz has been Chief Investment Officer, Senior Vice President, Treasury & Private Investments at the Katz Group in the family office of Daryl Katz, which has operations in sports and entertainment, real estate and public and private investments. Mr. Lorenz works directly with the principal to oversee the design, implementation and monitoring of the overall investment strategy for public and private passive investments. Prior to joining the Katz Group, Mr. Lorenz was Director, Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) Private Client Business at Credit Suisse Securities, LLC, where he was selected to expand Credit Suisse’s UHNW private client business into Canada. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Lorenz was the Director, UHNW Management Group at UBS Financial Services, Inc., where he was a key contributor to the formation and build out of the company’s first dedicated UBS UHNW office. Earlier in his career, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that charters, regulates and supervises all national banks and thrift institutions. Mr. Lorenz holds a J.D. from George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, an M.B.A. from Benedictine University and a B.S. in economics from Illinois State University.
Mr. Lorenz added, “I look forward to joining Fortress Biotech’s Board of Directors and working with the management team to continue to execute on the company’s goal of maximizing value for its shareholders. I am very excited by the Fortress business model and progress to date.”
About Fortress Biotech
Fortress Biotech, Inc. (“Fortress”) is an innovative biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, in-licensing and developing high-potential marketed and development-stage drugs and drug candidates. The company has over 25 programs in development at Fortress, at its majority-owned and majority-controlled partners and at partners it founded and in which it holds significant minority ownership positions. Such product candidates span six large-market therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare diseases and gene therapy, which allow it to create value while mitigating risk for shareholders. Fortress advances its diversified pipeline through a streamlined operating structure that fosters efficient drug development. The Fortress model is driven by a world-class business development team that is focused on leveraging its significant biopharmaceutical industry expertise to further expand the company’s portfolio of product opportunities. Fortress has established partnerships with some of the world’s leading academic research institutions and biopharmaceutical companies to maximize each opportunity to its full potential, including Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., City of Hope, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a subsidiary of Cipla Limited) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For more information, visit www.fortressbiotech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. As used below and throughout this press release, the words “we”, “us” and “our” may refer to Fortress individually or together with one or more partner companies, as dictated by context. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our growth strategy and product development programs and any other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated include: risks relating to our growth strategy; our ability to obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; risks relating to the results of research and development activities; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical testing; risks relating to the timing of starting and completing clinical trials; our dependence on third-party suppliers; our ability to attract, integrate and retain key personnel; the early stage of products under development; our need for substantial additional funds; government regulation; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in our SEC filings. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as may be required by law. The information contained herein is intended to be reviewed in its totality, and any stipulations, conditions or provisos that apply to a given piece of information in one part of this press release should be read as applying mutatis mutandis to every other instance of such information appearing herein.
Company Contacts:
Jaclyn Jaffe and William Begien
Fortress Biotech, Inc.
(781) 652-4500
ir@fortressbiotech.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Daniel Ferry
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
(617) 535-7746
daniel@lifesciadvisors.com
Media Relations Contact:
Tony Plohoros
6 Degrees
(908) 940-0135
tplohoros@6degreespr.com