Pliant Therapeutics Announces Appointment of David Pyott to Board of Directors

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLRX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis, today announced the appointment of Dr. David Pyott, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Allergan, to Pliant’s Board of Directors.  

“David is an accomplished international pharmaceutical executive whose extensive experience in building companies will be invaluable at this stage of Pliant’s development,” said Bernard Coulie, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pliant. “It is my great pleasure to welcome David to the Board and look forward to his insights as we advance and expand our clinical stage portfolio.”

Dr. Pyott joins the Pliant Board of Directors with more than 30 years of executive leadership and management experience within the global pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Pyott most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Offer of Allergan, where, over his 17-year tenure in this role, he transformed the company from a small eye care business with $1 billion in annual sales into a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company with 2014 annual sales of over $7 billion. Prior to Allergan, Dr. Pyott held the role of Head of the Novartis Nutrition Division and served as a member of the Executive Committee of Switzerland-based Novartis AG.

“I am excited to be joining the Pliant board and supporting an accomplished group of board members and a strong leadership team to help guide the company’s mission of delivering innovative and potential transformative treatments to patients,” said Dr. Pyott. “I believe Pliant’s novel approach has the potential to address the need for new treatments for fibrotic diseases.”

In addition to Pliant, Dr. Pyott currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceutical, as Chairman of Bioniz Therapeutics, Inc., a private biotechnology company, and is a member of the Supervisory Board of Royal Philips in the Netherlands, a public diversified health technology company. Dr. Pyott serves as Deputy Chairman of the Governing Board of the London Business School, President of the Ophthalmology Foundation, President of the Advisory Board of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and is also a Trustee of the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Pyott holds a Diploma in International and European Law from the Europa Institute at the University of Amsterdam, an Honorary Degree in Medicine and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the London Business School.

About Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.
Pliant Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis. Pliant's lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small-molecule dual selective inhibitor of a_vß₆ and a_vß₁ integrins that is in development for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC. PLN-74809 has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for both IPF and PSC. Pliant is currently recruiting Phase 2a trials of PLN-74809 for the treatment of IPF and PSC. Pliant's second product candidate, PLN-1474, is a small-molecule selective inhibitor of a_vß₁ for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, which Pliant has partnered with Novartis. PLN-1474 is currently undergoing a Phase 1 trial. In addition to clinical stage programs, Pliant currently has two preclinical programs targeting oncology and muscular dystrophies. For additional information about Pliant Therapeutics, visit www.pliantrx.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Investor Contact:
Christopher Keenan
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.
ir@pliantrx.com

Media Contact:
Cambria Fuqua
Canale Communications
cambria.fuqua@canalecomm.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/95826a4d-80dc-482a-aab1-c8684bfa48e5