TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN) (“Oragenics” or the “Company”) announced the appointments of Bruce Cassidy and John Gandolfo to the Board of Directors effective October 4, 2023.
“We are delighted to welcome Bruce Cassidy and John Gandolfo to the Oragenics Board,” said Charlie Pope, Chairman of Oragenics. “Bruce’s deep experience in high-technology global businesses will be invaluable to Oragenics as we grow our portfolio. John’s proven leadership in the life sciences, capital raising and financial management will be critical to our future. We are confident that Bruce and John will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our strategy, pursue our mission to serve patients and enhance value for all Oragenics’ shareholders.”
Mr. Cassidy currently serves on the boards for various companies, including as Chairman of the Board of each of Loop Media, Inc., KeyStar Corp, Arboreta Healthcare, Inc., Selinsky Force, LLC and The Sarasota Green Group. He was also the founding investor and served on the board of directors of Ohio Legacy Corp. Previously, Mr. Cassidy was the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Excel Mining Systems from 1991 until its sale in 2007 to Orica Mining Services, and from 2008 to 2009, served as the President and CEO of one of its subsidiaries, Minova North & South Americas. He is currently the President of The Concession Golf Club in Sarasota, Florida.
“I am excited to be a part of the next generation of drug and delivery technologies for critical unmet medical needs. The unique platform of formulas and the nasal application of delivering novel therapeutics represents the future of neurological drugs. I look forward to working with the Oragenics Board and the Odyssey team to help steer the new strategy and direction of the Company,” said Bruce Cassidy.
Mr. Gandolfo has more than 30 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of multiple rapidly growing private and publicly held companies with a primary focus in the life sciences, healthcare and medical device areas. Mr. Gandolfo has had direct responsibility over all financial and treasury functions including capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Gandolfo currently serves as CFO of Eyenovia, Inc., (EYEN) a late-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company since January 2018. Prior to this, Mr. Gandolfo was CFO of Xtant Medical Holdings, Inc., a biologics company, from July 2010 through September 2017. Prior to this, he served as the CFO for Progenitor Cell Therapy LLC from January 2009 to June 2010 and, before that, as CFO of Power Medical Interventions, Inc. from January 2007 to January 2009. Mr. Gandolfo currently serves on the Board of Directors of Electrocore, Inc. (ECOR) and previously served on the Board of Directors and was chair of the Audit Committee of Odyssey Health, Inc. f/k/a Odyssey Group International, Inc., (ODDY) from 2019 until 2023. Oragenics announced the signing of an asset purchase agreement with Odyssey Health on October 6, 2023.
“Having been involved with the Odyssey team for the past few years I am a strong believer in the technology and the synergies with Oragenics. I am happy to continue my involvement as a member of Oragenics Board,” said John Gandolfo.
Mr. Gandolfo is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Electrocore, Inc. (ECOR) and is chair of the Compensation Committee and sits on their audit committee. Mr. Gandolfo received his B.A. degree in Business Administration from Rutgers University.
About Oragenics
Oragenics, Inc. is a development-stage company focused on nasal delivery of pharmaceutical medications including in neurology and fighting infectious diseases including coronaviruses and multidrug-resistant organisms. Its lead product is NT-CoV2-1, an intranasal vaccine candidate to prevent COVID-19 and variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The NT-CoV2-1 program leverages coronavirus spike protein research licensed from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) with a focus on reducing viral transmission and offering a more patient-friendly intranasal administration. Its lantibiotics program features a novel class of antibiotics against bacteria that have developed resistance to commercial antibiotics. For more information, please visit www.oragenics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: the ability of Odyssey and Oragenics to successfully close their asset purchase agreement; the ability of the Oragenics to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of acquiring the Odyssey assets; Oragenics’ future performance, business prospects, events and product development plans. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project” and similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Investors should be cautious in relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: Oragenics’ ability increase its authorized shares of Common Stock; Oragenics’ ability to obtain a quorum at future shareholders meetings; Oragenics’ ability to obtain its shareholders’ approval for the (a) the increase in Oragenics’ authorized Common Stock from 4,166,666 to 350,000,000 and (b) the conversion of the Series F Preferred Stock into Common Stock; whether or not all of the closing conditions to the Odyssey transaction will be satisfied and otherwise whether Oragenics will be able to successfully close the Odyssey transaction; Oragenics’ ability to obtain necessary funding, non-dilutive or otherwise, for the development of its product candidates, including its vaccine and lantibiotic assets and, if the Odyssey transaction successfully closes, the concussion asset; Oragenics’ ability to advance the development of its vaccine candidate and lantibiotics candidate (and, if the Odyssey transaction successfully closes, the concussion asset) under the timelines and in accord with the milestones it projects; the regulatory application process, research and development stages, and future clinical data and analysis relating to vaccines and lantibiotics, including any meetings, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA and Canadian regulatory authorities and investigational review boards, whether favorable or unfavorable; the potential application of Oragenics’ vaccine candidate to variants and other coronaviruses; Oragenics’ ability to obtain, maintain and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection and license agreements; the nature of competition and development relating to COVID-19 immunization and therapeutic treatments and demand for vaccines and antibiotics; Oragenics’ and/or Odyssey’s expectations as to the outcome of preclinical studies, nasal administration, transmission, manufacturing, storage and distribution; other potential adverse impacts such as delays in regulatory review, manufacturing delays and supply chain issues, adverse impacts on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy; the ability to sustain compliance with Oragenics’ exchange listing requirements; and general economic and market conditions and risks, as well as other uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information set forth in this press release is as of the date hereof. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included in this press release and not place undue reliance on such statements. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by law.
