PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:EIGR), focused on the development and commercialization of targeted therapies for serious rare and ultra-rare diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr. Stephana Patton as the Company's General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer.  Dr. Patton brings twenty years of legal experience to Eiger, and was most recently General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at BioTime, Inc., responsible for all legal and compliance matters at BioTime and its subsidiaries.  Previously, Dr. Patton was Vice President, General Counsel, and Commercial Compliance Officer at BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.  Dr. Patton began her pharmaceutical industry career at Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she was Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing, until the company was acquired by Valeant, Inc. in 2015.  

Dr. Patton earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Erskine College, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. 

"We expect 2019 to be a transformative year for Eiger as we plan to file the first-ever NDA for Progeria and ramp up the first-ever international Phase 3 study in Hepatitis Delta Virus infection," said David Cory, Eiger President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Stephana's background and experience in corporate governance, compliance, intellectual property strategy, and licensing will strengthen Eiger and our executive team as we advance our late stage programs in rare and ultra-rare diseases and take the company to the next level." 

"This is an exciting time as Eiger prepares to transition into a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company with multiple late stage pipeline programs," said Stephana Patton.  "Eiger is poised for significant growth in the future, and I look forward to working alongside such a talented and passionate team to deliver first-in-class therapies for serious rare and ultra-rare diseases to patients."

About Eiger
Eiger is a late stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted therapies for rare and ultra-rare diseases.  We innovate by developing well-characterized drugs in newly identified or novel targets in rare diseases.  Our mission is to systematically reduce the time and cost of the drug development process to more rapidly deliver important medicines to patients. 

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.  Eiger is also preparing an NDA for lonafarnib to treat Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) 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 file an NDA for Progeria in 2019 and progress our Phase 3 study in HDV; our ability to transition into a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company; our ability to finance the continued advancement of our development pipeline products; and the potential for success of any of our product candidates.

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 September 30, 2018 and Eiger's periodic reports filed with the SEC.  Eiger does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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

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SOURCE Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.