PALO ALTO, Calif., June 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIGR), focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for rare diseases, announced today the appointment of Jeysen Yogaratnam, MB.BCh, BAO, MRCSEd, PhD, MBA as Vice President of Global Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) Clinical Development.  Dr. Yogaratnam's clinical development experience spans over a decade in large pharma and biotechnology companies with specialization in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, including direct-acting antivirals, immune-based small molecules, as well as therapeutic vaccines and biologics.  Dr. Yogaratnam was most recently at Janssen Biopharma, where he led drug development of hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid assembly modulators.   

"Jeysen's background and experience in liver disease and antiviral drug development align well with our current and future HDV program needs as we advance Lonafarnib in the first-ever Phase 3 global study for HDV and Peginterferon Lambda toward Phase 3 for HDV," said David Cory, President and CEO.  "Eiger's mission is to deliver multiple, first-in-class, treatment options for HDV patients, and Jeysen is ideally suited to take our program to the next level."  

"I am excited to join Eiger's leadership team at this pivotal point in the Company's evolution as the leader of HDV drug development and look forward to advancing both Lonafarnib and Peginterferon Lambda to treat HDV patients for this large, unmet medical need," said Dr. Yogaratnam.

Dr. Yogaratnam was most recently Senior Medical Director at Janssen Biopharma, where he led the early drug development process of an HBV capsid assembly modulator (CAM) from late pre-clinical development into Phase 2a drug development.  He was previously Chief Medical Officer at MIFCOR, Inc, responsible for creating portfolio strategy and managing the company's clinical development pipeline.  Earlier, he was Medical Director at Vertex and served as a medical lead on the anti-HCV protease inhibitor, telaprevir (INCIVEK^®), and served as the Vertex Clinical Lead in the Joint Strategic Alliance Team with Janssen Pharmaceutical.  Dr. Yogaratnam began his industry career at Bristol Myers Squibb, which included a role as Medical Director in the development of peginterferon lambda for HCV.

Dr. Yogaratnam completed his Diploma in Surgery from The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow and The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He received a PhD in Biological Sciences from University of Hull and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He earned his undergraduate medical degree from The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

About Eiger
Eiger is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a pipeline of first-in-class, well-characterized drugs for serious rare and ultra-rare diseases for patients with high unmet medical needs and for which no approved therapies exist. 

The Company's lead program is in Phase 3, developing lonafarnib, a first-in-class prenylation inhibitor for the treatment of Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) infection.  The company is also advancing peginterferon lambda, a first-in-class interferon, toward a Phase 3 study for the treatment of HDV.  Eiger is preparing an NDA and MAA for lonafarnib to treat Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) and Progeroid Laminopathies with plans to file in 2019.  For additional information about Eiger and its clinical programs, please visit www.eigerbio.com.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.  All statements other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our future financial condition, timing for and outcomes of clinical results, business strategy and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward looking statements.  These forward-looking statements include terminology such as "believe," "will," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "contemplate," "intend," "target," "project," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "could," "potentially" or the negative of these terms.  Forward looking statements are our current statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things, our ongoing and planned clinical development, including plans to complete enrollment of our D-LIVR study by the end of 2019, and submit an NDA and MAA for Progeria and progeroid laminopathies in 2019.  These statements concern product candidates that have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  No representation is made as to their safety or effectiveness for the purposes for which they are being investigated.

Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Eiger makes, including the risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended   March 31, 2019 and Eiger's subsequent filings with the SEC.  Eiger does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required.

Investors: Ingrid Choong, PhD
Email: [email protected] 
Phone: 1-650-619-6115

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SOURCE Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.