Aquinox Announces Appointment of Dr. Kelvin Neu and Dr. Richard Levy to Board of Directors

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2017 -- Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Aquinox”) (NASDAQ:AQXP), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapeutics in disease areas of inflammation and immuno-oncology, today announced that representatives from Aquinox’s largest shareholder, Baker Brothers Investments, have been appointed to the Aquinox’s board of directors. Drs. Kelvin M. Neu, M.D. and Richard S. Levy, M.D., joined effective March 23, 2017. Founded in 2000, Baker Brothers Investments manages long-term investment funds, focused on publicly traded life sciences companies, for major university endowments and foundations.

“I would like to welcome Kelvin and Richard to the board. Baker Brothers Investments has been a strong supporter of the company and we have a shared vision for the potential of Aquinox. We will benefit immensely from an even closer working relationship, their deep insights on successful clinical development and experience working with many companies to bring novel therapies to market,” said David Main, President and CEO of Aquinox. “The strength of our board reflects our focus on late stage development and preparation for commercialization in support of the company’s goal to meaningfully improve the quality of patients’ lives through innovative medicines.”

Kelvin M. Neu, M.D., is a Managing Director of Baker Brothers Investments. Dr. Neu holds an M.D. from the Harvard Medical School-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, and spent three years in the Immunology Ph.D. program at Stanford University as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow. 

Richard S. Levy, M.D., is a Senior Advisor at Baker Brothers Investments. Dr. Levy, previously Executive Vice President, Chief Drug Development and Medical Officer at Incyte Corporation, is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 

About Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapeutics in disease areas of inflammation and immuno-oncology. Our primary focus is anti-inflammatory product candidates targeting SH2-containing inositol-5'-phosphatase 1, or SHIP1, which is a key regulator of an important cellular signaling pathway in immune cells, known as the PI3K pathway. Aquinox's lead drug candidate, AQX-1125, is a small molecule activator of SHIP1 suitable for oral, once daily dosing.  In September 2016, we began enrolling patients in a Phase 3 clinical trial of AQX-1125 in our lead indication, Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS).  Other indications are under consideration for future investigation. Aquinox has a broad intellectual property portfolio and pipeline of preclinical drug candidates that activate SHIP1. For more information, please visit www.aqxpharma.com.