BerGenBio appoints cancer drug development specialist Alan Barge MD as interim Chief Medical Officer

 

Further senior organisational changes made in preparation for advancing
bemcentinib into the next stage of clinical development in multiple aggressive
cancers
Bergen, Norway, 22nd November 2018 - BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical
-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, oral, selective AXL kinase
inhibitors for multiple cancer indications, is delighted to announce the
appointment of Alan Barge MD as Interim Chief Medical Officer and member of the
leadership team. The Company also announces further senior organisational
changes and a strengthening of its clinical operations as it prepares for the
intended advancement of its lead candidate bemcentinib into the next stages of
clinical development.

Dr Barge is a board-certified oncologist and haematologist, with more than 25
years of experience in cancer drug development, spent primarily at AstraZeneca
and Amgen. He spent over 12 years at AstraZeneca, where he was VP and Head
Oncology and Infection, during which time he was responsible for the development
of Iressa® (gefitinib) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the
translational research that resulted in the successful personalised medicine
strategy for AZ. Prior to AZ, Dr Barge was European and Global Medical Director
at Amgen, at which he was responsible for European approval and label extensions
for several of Amgen's cancer therapies. More recently, Dr Barge has been
actively involved in the biotech sector in both CMO and non-executive positions,
including CMO of Carrick Therapeutics (UK and Ireland) and SVP Oncology at ASLAN
Pharmaceuticals (Singapore).

Dr Barge will work as part of BerGenBio's leadership team on an interim basis
until a permanent CMO is appointed.

Richard Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "We are
delighted to welcome Alan to the team. His vast experience from developing
successful cancer drugs with AstraZeneca and Amgen will be most valuable in
forming and executing the Company's clinical and regulatory strategy for
bemcentinib as we enter the next phase of development. We anticipate further
results from our phase II proof-of-concept studies of bemcentinib in NSCLC and
AML in the coming months, and aim to start a randomised phase 2 trial programme
in these indications in 2019."

In addition, BerGenBio announces the promotion of Dr Anthony Brown to Chief
Scientific Officer from Director of Research, succeeding BerGenBio co-founder
Professor James Lorens, who becomes a Senior Scientific Advisor to the Company.
Murray Yule, BerGenBio's Clinical Development Officer, will leave the Company
with effect from 30 November 2018. Further, as noted during the Company's Q3
2018 results presentation, Dr Tone Bjaaland has recently been appointed as
Director of Clinical Operations (>25 years' experience in clinical research) and
further strengthens the team.

About BerGenBio ASA

BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing
transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for
advanced and aggressive cancers. The company's proprietary lead candidate,
bemcentinib, is a potential first-in- class, selective AXL inhibitor in a broad
phase II clinical development programme. Ongoing clinical trials are
investigating bemcentinib in multiple solid and haematological tumours, in
combination with current and emerging therapies (including immunotherapies,
targeted therapies and chemotherapy), and as a single agent.

In parallel, BerGenBio is developing a companion diagnostics test to identify
patient populations most likely to benefit from bemcentinib: this is expected to
facilitate more efficient registration trials and support a precision medicine
-based commercialisation strategy.

BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The
company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). www.bergenbio.com

Contacts

Richard Godfrey CEO, BerGenBio ASA
+47 917 86 304

Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
+47 917 86 513

International Media Relations

David Dible, Mark Swallow, Marine Perrier, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
bergenbio@citigatedewerogerson.com
+44 207 638 9571

Media Relations in Norway

Jan Petter Stiff, Crux Advisers
stiff@crux.no
+47 995 13 891

Forward looking statements

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not
historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are
based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently
subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important
factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations
expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5
-12 of the Norwegian Securities Tra