DiaMedica Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Dr. Richard Kuntz to the Board of Directors

DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on acute ischemic stroke and other vascular diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr. Richard Kuntz to its Board of Directors effective May 30, 2023.

Dr. Richard Kuntz recently retired from Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) where he was the Chief Medical Officer & Scientific Officer and a member of the Executive Committee. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and President, Neuromodulation of Medtronic from October 2005 to August 2009. Before joining Medtronic, he was the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute in Boston. He also served as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Clinical Biometrics, and as an Interventional Cardiologist in the division of cardiovascular diseases at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In addition, he served as a founding Governor of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), as part of the US Affordable Care Act. He also served as an advisor to multiple national and regional committees, in the National Academy of Medicine and National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is presently serving as a working group member of NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) program. Dr. Kuntz has directed numerous multicenter clinical trials and has authored more than 250 original publications. His major interests are traditional and alternative clinical trial design and biostatistics.

“When it comes to treating stroke patients, the clinical validation of enhancing local blood flow as a mechanism of action is evident in the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy and tPA. In contrast, alternative approaches like neuroprotective agents, which do not contribute to improving blood flow, have demonstrated limited clinical efficacy,” Commented Dr. Kuntz. “DM199 presents a novel pharmacological strategy to enhance blood flow by improving collateral circulation specifically in the ischemic penumbra. With its extended 24-hour therapeutic window, DM199 holds significant potential to benefit a substantial number of patients who are either ineligible for or do not receive treatment with mechanical thrombectomy or tPA.”