Ziopharm Oncology Announces Management Transition

Dr. David Mauney stepping down as President; Remains a consultant to the Company

BOSTON, May 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (“Ziopharm” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ZIOP), today announced Dr. David Mauney is stepping down as President. Dr. Mauney remains a consultant to Ziopharm and will continue to help guide the Company through this transition. 

“It has been a tremendous privilege to serve as President of Ziopharm, and I am incredibly proud of where we are as a Company,” said Dr. Mauney.  “The Company is positioned for success, with a clear strategy, a strong balance sheet, and tremendous assets all in place, which is why we have decided that now is the appropriate natural inflection point to make this transition. I came on board in 2017 with ambitions to help Laurence and the team strengthen the corporate structure and develop a vision that allows Ziopharm to take its sound and exciting scientific foundation and build it to its full capacity. We have achieved these goals and more and I am fully convinced of the Company’s prosperous future. I believe the strong culture anchored by the senior management team and Board in place focused on caring for patients with solid tumors will drive the Company to great heights.”

Dr. Laurence Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of Ziopharm said, “I know I speak for everyone at Ziopharm in thanking David for his exceptional contributions and dedication to the Company. David was instrumental in helping Ziopharm forge its corporate independence in late 2018 and led our successful efforts in securing necessary financial resources to establish our TCR-T program and build out the Controlled IL-12 platform. He has been a fantastic partner and we all wish him the very best.” 

Dr. Mauney joined Ziopharm in September 2017 as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer after having been an investor in the company for many years. He was promoted to President in December 2018, and together with the senior management team helped to restructure the Company and raised over $200 million to fund its development pipeline.

About Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. 
Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven cell and gene therapies that weaponize the body’s immune system to treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with a solid tumor each year. With its multiplatform approach, Ziopharm is at the forefront of immuno-oncology with a goal to treat any type of solid tumor. Ziopharm’s pipeline is built for commercially scalable, cost effective T-cell receptor T-cell therapies based on its non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer platform, a precisely controlled IL-12 gene therapy, and rapidly manufactured Sleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company has clinical and strategic partnerships with the National Cancer Institute, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and others. For more information, please visit www.ziopharm.com.