Capricor Therapeutics Appoints Xavier Avat as Chief Business Officer

Capricor Expands Senior Management Team to Build Commercial Strategy for Lead Asset, CAP-1002, and Further Develop Partnering Strategy for Proprietary Exosome Platform

Formerly at Edwards Lifesciences, Gilead and Genentech, Mr. Avat Brings Over 25 Years of Business and Commercial Strategy Experience to Capricor

SAN DIEGO, May 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR), a biotechnology company focused on the development of transformative cell and exosome-based therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of a broad spectrum of diseases, today announced that it has appointed Xavier Avat as Chief Business Officer. In this role, Mr. Avat will oversee Capricor’s strategic priorities, the commercialization of its pipeline products and business development activities.

“As Capricor further unlocks the potential of our lead asset, CAP-1002, for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy and continues to expand its exosome platform, Xavier’s deep industry knowledge will be instrumental as we take the Company to the next stage of its evolution,” said Linda Marbán, Ph.D., CEO, Capricor. “Furthermore, Xavier’s strong leadership and strategy skills will help Capricor to bring its therapies to patients and their families who need them the most. As demonstrated by his highly successful track record across healthcare sectors and, in particular, at renowned biotech companies throughout his career, Xavier has what it takes to drive growth for Capricor in both the short- and long-term.”

Prior to joining Capricor, Mr. Avat served as Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Strategy and New Initiatives, at Edwards Lifesciences, a global medical technology leader, where he led the company’s global strategy and corporate performance metrics, as well as initiated and incubated market development and franchise initiatives. Before that, Mr. Avat served as Vice President, Corporate Development (in the Americas) and General Manager (Canada), at Santen Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Mr. Avat was with Gilead Sciences, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, including corporate development, as the GM of Latin America, and then as part of the U.S. team that launched Sovaldi. Earlier in his career, he held various leadership positions at Schering Plough (now Merck), Genentech and bioMérieux. Mr. Avat obtained his Master of Business Administration degree from Edhec Business School and a Master of Science degree in bioengineering from Polytech Lille in France.

“What separates Capricor from other biotechnology companies of its size in the industry is its innovative pipeline and differentiated technology platform,” added Mr. Avat. “I look forward to working alongside the Capricor leadership team to help realize its immense potential to build a new class of medicine for DMD patients. As CAP-1002 enters Phase 3, and as Capricor’s exosome platform further expands, I am confident that Capricor will continue making strides in the rare disease space and expand the Company’s industry-leading exosome technology platform into new therapeutic areas.”

About Capricor Therapeutics
Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPR) is a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative cell and exosome-based therapeutics and vaccines for treating and preventing a broad spectrum of diseases. Capricor's lead candidate, CAP-1002, is an allogeneic cardiac-derived cell therapy that is currently in clinical development for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Capricor is also developing its exosome technology as a next-generation therapeutic platform. The Company’s current focus is on developing exosomes capable of delivering nucleic acids, including mRNA, as well as proteins to treat or prevent a variety of diseases. For more information, visit www.capricor.com, and follow the Company on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the efficacy, safety, and intended utilization of Capricor's product candidates; the initiation, conduct, size, timing and results of discovery efforts and clinical trials; the pace of enrollment of clinical trials; plans regarding regulatory filings, future research and clinical trials; regulatory developments involving products, including the ability to obtain regulatory approvals or otherwise bring products to market; the ability to achieve product milestones and to receive milestone payments from commercial partners; plans regarding current and future collaborative activities and the ownership of commercial rights; scope, duration, validity and enforceability of intellectual property rights; future royalty streams, revenue projections; expectations with respect to the expected use of proceeds from the recently completed offerings and the anticipated effects of the offerings; and any other statements about Capricor's management team's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "believes," "plans," "could," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. More information about these and other risks that may impact Capricor's business is set forth in Capricor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2022 and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2022. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Capricor as of the date hereof, and Capricor assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

CAP-1002 is an Investigational New Drug and is not approved for any indications. None of Capricor’s exosome-based candidates have been approved for clinical investigation.

For more information, please contact:

Capricor Media Contact:
Raquel Cona
KCSA Strategic Communications
rcona@kcsa.com
212.896.1204

Capricor Investor Contact:
Joyce Allaire
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com
617.435.6602

Capricor Company Contact:
AJ Bergmann, Chief Financial Officer
abergmann@capricor.com
310.358.3200

Released May 25, 2022