Veru Announces Appointment of Dr. Erik Swenson and Dr. Robert Schooley to its Infectious Disease Scientific Advisory Board

MIAMI, FL, June 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veru Inc. (NASDAQ: VERU), a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel medicines for the treatment of breast cancer and for SARS-CoV-2 and other viral ARDS-related diseases, today announced the appointment of Erik Swenson, M.D., a world-renowned pulmonologist specializing in critical care, and Robert Schooley, M.D., an accomplished infectious disease physician and researcher, to its Infectious Disease Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to join David D. Ho, M.D., a trailblazer of infectious disease viral research and therapeutic development, who is Chairman of the SAB.

“We are pleased to share that Dr. Erik Swenson and Dr. Robert Schooley are joining our Scientific Advisory Board focused on infectious diseases,” said Mitchell Steiner, M.D., Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Veru. “Our Company’s strategy to progress sabizabulin for serious and life-threatening infectious diseases like viral induced ARDS is consistent with both doctors’ pertinent and extensive experiences and professional aims. We are fortunate to receive their scientific guidance and support, alongside Dr. David Ho’s, to continue advancing sabizabulin, an important, potentially lifesaving drug candidate.”

Erik Swenson, M.D. is a pulmonologist affiliated with Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System-Seattle. Dr. Swenson specializes in critical care medicine, internal medicine and pulmonology, with particular concentration in adult acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), pulmonary hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and tuberculosis for over four decades. Additionally, he is a Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington and previously served as the Chairman of the U.S. FDA’s Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee for 10 years. Dr. Swenson received his M.D. from University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work closely with Veru’s experienced scientists and executives who are working diligently to deliver a novel medicine with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties to patients suffering from viral induced ARDS,” said Erik Swenson, M.D.

Robert Schooley, M.D., an infectious disease specialist, is affiliated with UC San Diego Health-La Jolla and Hillcrest, where he serves as a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine. His primary research interests include influenza, global health and international medicine, and the diagnosis and management of infections that cause death and morbidity in resource-limited settings. Notably, Dr. Schooley played a key role as one of the first researchers to describe the humoral and cellular immune responses to HIV infection. He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.