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VBL Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Marc Kozin as Vice Chairman of Board of DirectorsTEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VBL Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VBLT) today announced that it has appointed Marc Kozin as Vice Chairman of the Board. Mr. Kozin will transition to becoming Chairman during 2021, at which time Bennett Shapiro, M.D., the current Chairman of the Board, will step down as Chairman. Dr. Shapiro will remain on the Board of Directors. "I have had the honor of serving as the Chairman of VBL’s Board of Directors for many years, during a period in which the company had significant accomplishments and transitioned from R&D to late clinical stage,” said Bennett Shapiro, M.D. “I am very happy to pass the role to Marc as the next generation, and believe he is very well qualified to lead the company to fulfill its mission and bring our unique novel drug, VB-111 to cancer patients.” Dror Harats, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of VBL Therapeutics, stated, “Marc has an exceptional track record of helping biotech companies navigate to success. As VBL continues to evolve and as we get ready to provide patients in need with access to our Phase 3 anti-cancer therapy, VB-111, it is important to have Board members with the appropriate areas of expertise. Marc brings extensive professional, strategic and financial experience, as demonstrated by his leadership roles with companies that have achieved success and significant value creation. We are confident that he will make important contributions to our company.” Marc Kozin stated, “This is an exciting time for VBL, as evidenced by the excellent progress in the ongoing OVAL trial of VB-111 in ovarian cancer, the expansion of VB-111 into new oncology indications and advancement of the pipeline. I believe that VBL is well-positioned to deliver on its mission to commercialize first-in-class treatments in cancer and immune/inflammatory indications and I look forward to contributing to the Company’s success.” Dr. Harats concluded, “I would like to thank Dr. Shapiro for his leadership and I am pleased that he will continue to serve on our Board of Directors.” Marc Kozin has three decades of industry expertise advising biopharmaceutical, life sciences and medtech companies. He is currently the Chairman of the Strategy Advisory Board of HealthCare Royalty Partners (HCR), a leadin investment firm in healthcare, providing royalty monetization and senior debt. Previously, Mr. Kozin was a career strategy consultant, having served as President of L.E.K. Consulting’s North American practice from 1997 to 2012. He began his career at L.E.K. in 1987 by helping establish the Boston office and led the development of L.E.K.'s industry leading life science strategic planning practice. Mr. Kozin has served on over a dozen Boards in a variety of roles and on all committees. He is currently the Lead Independent Director and serves on the Compensation Committee of UFP Technologies (Nasdaq: UFPT). He serves as Director and Chairman of the Compensation Committee for Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DRNA). Previously, he served on the board of Endocyte, helping the company negotiate a $2.1 billion M&A deal with Novartis. He was also a board member of Dyax which was acquired by Shire in 2015 for $6.5 billion. Mr. Kozin has served as Director of The Greenlight Fund, a non-profit focused on improving the lives of inner city children in families, since 2017. He was also on the Board of Governors at New England Medical Center and the Board of DukeEngage for several years. He received a BS in Economics from Duke University in 1983 and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School in 1987. About VBL Forward Looking Statements INVESTOR CONTACT: Michael Rice |