NEW YORK and PETACH TIKVAH, Israel, June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. BCLI, a leading developer of adult stem cell therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the appointment of Joseph Petroziello as vice president of scientific & corporate communications, and Susan Ward, Ph.D. as head of clinical operations.

Dr. Ward, who served as Director, Early Clinical Development at Pfizer, has more than 20 years of operational leadership experience in clinical trials, IND-enabling studies, protocol development and management of cross-functional teams. Joe Petroziello joins BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics from Juno Therapeutics (a Celgene company), where he served as Senior Director/Head of Scientific Communications & Publications, has over 20 years of experience in medical writing, scientific communication and drug research and development. Both will be based in the United States.    

"We are delighted to have Joe and Susan join the BrainStorm team," said Chaim Lebovits, president and chief executive officer of BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics. "These are the latest in a series of key appointments to the executive management team and board, as we transform BrainStorm to a global biopharmaceutical stem cell therapeutic company and build our U.S. infrastructure. These additions build on our recent board appointments including Dr. Tony Polverino, currently the interim chief scientific officer at Kite Pharma, and Drs. June Almenof and Arturo Araya, both who have global pharmaceutical management experience. Also in 2017, were the appointments of Dr. Ralph Kern as chief operating officer and chief medical officer."

Joseph Petroziello, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics' vice president of scientific and corporate communications added, "I look forward to joining the Executive Management team at BrainStorm, an emerging leader in the research and development of an innovative stem cell therapeutic approach being evaluated in global clinical trials for the treatment of debilitating neurodegenerative diseases of high unmet medical need, such as ALS."           

Susan Ward, Ph.D., BrainStorm's director of clinical and research operations said, "I am thrilled to join the BrainStorm team at this important time in the company's development. NurOwn^® has demonstrated promising efficacy in ALS and, if approved, has the potential to address the significant unmet need that exists with this disease. I see the ongoing Phase 3 trial as marking a pivotal moment in innovative therapies for patients with ALS."

Dr. Susan Ward has an established track record in leadership, design and execution of innovative, cross-disciplinary research and program management across all phases, including early phase clinical research and exploratory scientific collaboration. She joins BrainStorm from Pfizer, Inc., where she was the head of early development clinical trial operations, a group of clinical trial specialists supporting clinicians in operations and daily execution of clinical trials to advance the early clinical development portfolio. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Ward was a clinical consultant in neuroscience clinical development at Roche and held positions of increasing responsibility at both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including OvaScience, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec, and Sepracor. In addition, she started off her career at a niche CRO, Clinquest, working in various roles in clinical operations, strategic planning and execution, pharmacovigilance and data management.  Later in her career, she rejoined Clinquest as vice president, global clinical affairs where she provided clinical, regulatory, and quality services to companies ranging from small, virtual start-ups early in development through mid-sized companies with late-stage programs. Dr. Ward worked in translational and experimental medicine at Biogen Idec developing exploratory studies to further research strategy across therapeutic indications and build clinical research collaborations. Her role at Pfizer capitalized on that experience as she continued to work in quantitative  and human  exploratory medicine.   Dr. Ward earned a Doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Boston University School of Medicine in 2001, while working as a researcher and a Post-Doctoral Training Fellow at the Harold Goodglass Aphasia Research Center from 1993 to 2002. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science and Psychology from the University of Rochester.

Joe Petroziello joins BrainStorm from Juno Therapeutics, Inc. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Master of Science in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He joined Genzyme in 1996 as senior scientist in Molecular Oncology. He then joined Seattle Genetics, Inc. in 2000, as head of antigen discovery, leading translational research efforts to identify and patent novel tumor-associated antigens for targeting as Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) for Hematologic Malignancies. Over the next 8 years, Mr. Petroziello assumed roles as VP and medical director at consulting medical communications agencies in New York City with specialization in global scientific communication plans and regulatory technical writing for global publication plans, clinical advisory boards and clinical development plans for cancers and rare orphan diseases. Most recently, he was head of medical writing and scientific communications at Juno Therapeutics, Inc., from 2014-2018 with specialization in technical writing of clinical protocols, developing Key Opinion Leader (KOL) relationships at leading Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell academic institutions and providing strategic direction for clinical advisory boards for drug development of novel cellular biologics, including Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (Liso-cel; JCAR017), an investigational CD19-Directed (CAR-T) cell therapy in pivotal-stage drug development for B-cell cancers.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a biotechnology company engaged in the development of first-of-its-kind adult stem cell therapies derived from autologous bone marrow cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to develop and commercialize its NurOwn® technology through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University. NurOwn® has been administered to approximately 70 patients with ALS in clinical trials conducted in the United States and Israel.  In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted in the U. S., a clinically meaningful benefit was demonstrated by higher response to NurOwn® compared with placebo. For more information, visit the company's website at www.brainstorm-cell.com.

Safe-Harbor Statement       
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Terms and phrases such as "may", "should", "would", "could", "will", "expect", "likely", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "predict", "potential", and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with BrainStorm's limited operating history, history of losses; minimal working capital, dependence on its license to Ramot's technology; ability to adequately protect the technology; dependence on key executives and on its scientific consultants; ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available at http://www.sec.gov. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BrainStorm's forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or assumptions if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, unless otherwise required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

CONTACTS

Corporate: 
Uri Yablonka 
Chief Business Officer 
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. 
Phone: 646-666-3188  
uri@brainstorm-cell.com

Investors: 
Michael Rice 
LifeSci Advisors LLC 
Phone: 646-597-6979  
mrice@lifesciadvisors.com

Media: 
Drew Levinson
LifeSci Public Relations
Phone: 917-797-0388 
drew@lifescipublicrelations.com

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SOURCE BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.