Artios Pharma Appoints Pierre Legault as Chairman of its Board of Directors

Artios Pharma Ltd.

("Artios" or "the Company")

Artios Pharma Appoints Pierre Legault as Chairman of its Board of Directors

Industry leader who brings over 35 years of experience in developing successful pharmaceutical companies

Cambridge UK, 26 February 2018 - Artios Pharma, a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company developing innovative new treatments for cancer, today announces the appointment of Pierre Legault MBA, CA, CPA as Chairman of its Board of Directors, with immediate effect. Pierre, who is based in the US, is a highly accomplished leader in the global biopharmaceutical industry with over 35 years' experience leading companies through high phases of growth to deliver significant shareholder value.

Pierre's previous roles include Chief Executive Officer of Prosidion Ltd., Chief Financial Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals and he also served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer at various legacy companies of the Sanofi-Aventis group.

He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Poxel (France), and is a Director on the Boards of Syndax Pharmaceuticals (US), ARMO BioSciences (US) and Clementia Pharmaceuticals (US). Prior Board and executive positions include Forest Laboratories, Tobira Therapeutics, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Regado Biosciences, Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Eckerd Pharmacy and Nephrogenex (where he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer).

Commenting on today's appointment, Dr. Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Artios Pharma, said:
"We are delighted to welcome Pierre to Artios, where his track record of strong leadership and Board experience, together with his broad global network, will be hugely valuable to the company as we position ourselves as a world leading DDR company. Pierre has extensive experience in growing both public and private companies, successfully developing them from early discovery stage through to commercialisation in multiple geographies."  

Mr. Pierre Legault, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Artios Pharma, said: "I am delighted to have joined Artios at this important juncture as it advances its highly innovative pipeline towards the clinic in a growing market for DDR targeted therapies. I welcome the opportunity to work with an outstanding management team, which is supported by a strong Board and investor syndicate, to bring novel breakthrough DDR targeted therapies to cancer patients, while also creating value for investors."

For more information about Artios Pharma Ltd., please contact:

Artios Pharma Ltd.
Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer
Nick Staples, Chief Business Officer
Tel: +44 (0)1223 804180

Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott and Sukaina Virji
Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Email: [email protected]

About Artios Pharma Ltd.
Artios is a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company focused on developing first-in-class treatments for cancer. Established in May 2016, the Company is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with proven expertise in DDR drug discovery. Artios is developing a pipeline of differentiated, next-generation DDR programmes which includes its lead programme Pol theta. The company has built a strong in-house DDR platform and a network of collaborations with leading DNA repair researchers worldwide, including Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and Masaryk University. The Company's investors include SV Health Investors, Merck Ventures, Touchstone Innovations, Arix Bioscience plc, CRT Pioneer Fund (managed by Sixth Element Capital), and AbbVie Ventures. Artios is based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK.

About the DNA Damage Response (DDR)
DNA Damage occurs in cells throughout the body every day. To counteract the harmful effects that DNA damage can cause, the human body possesses a network of DNA repair pathways, which act to correct the damage. This process is known as the DNA Damage Response (DDR). Defects in the body's DDR can lead to an increased risk of cancer. Human cells have multiple DNA repair pathways, but in cancer cells, some of these pathways are lost, which result in genetic instability. Changes to DNA repair pathways can also drive the growth of tumours. By inhibiting DDR in cancer cells that have impaired repair pathways, scientists can selectively kill cancerous cells. DDR inhibitors, therefore, have the potential to act as: single agents that selectively kill tumour cells through synthetic lethality; adjunctive therapy to overcome resistance to current cytotoxics, and potentiating agents to radiotherapy and novel therapies including immune-oncology treatments.