Cardiol Therapeutics (TSX:CRDL, NASDAQ:CRDL) Inc has announced that Jennifer M. Chao has been appointed as a director of the company, effective immediately.
"We are thrilled that Jennifer has agreed to join our Board of Directors," Dr Guillermo Torre, chairman of Cardiol Therapeutics (TSX:CRDL, NASDAQ:CRDL) said in a statement. "I believe her extensive industry experience will play a key role in shaping Cardiol's strategic direction, as we continue to advance our mission of developing important new therapeutics for the treatment of inflammatory heart disease. Jennifer's strong Wall Street background will also support our efforts to significantly raise the profile of Cardiol within the US investment community."
The company said Chao has also been appointed as chair of its Corporate Governance and Compensation Committee.
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Cardiol noted that Chao has over 25 years of experience in the biotech and life sciences industries focused primarily on finance and corporate strategy. She is managing partner of CoreStrategies Management, LLC, a company she founded in 2008 to provide transformational corporate and financial strategies to biotech/life science companies for maximizing core valuation. She currently serves on the board of directors of Endo Pharmaceuticals and is a member of the Audit Committee and Compliance Committee.
Prior to joining Endo, Chao served as chairman of the board of BioSpecifics Technologies Corp from October 2019 until its acquisition by Endo for approximately US$660 million in December 2020. She also served as chair of BioSpecifics' Compensation Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee, Strategy Committee, Intellectual Property Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee from 2015 to 2020.
Chao also has extensive experience and knowledge of Wall Street, working at Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and Leerink Swann & Co. She was a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, as a recipient of the BioMedical Research Career Award, and received her BA in Politics and Greek Classics from New York University.
Cardiol noted that Iain Chalmers has stepped down from the board of directors to accommodate Chao's appointment.
“Cardiol would like to take this opportunity to thank Iain for his contributions to the company as a director and wishes him the very best with his future endeavors,” the company said.
Cardiol is a clinical-stage life sciences company focused on the research and clinical development of anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. The company's lead product, CardiolRx, is an oral cannabidiol formulation pharmaceutically manufactured under cGMP that is being investigated in a Phase II/III study.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com