DelMar Pharmaceuticals Appoints Saiid Zarrabian to the Board of Directors and Names Dr. Erich Mohr as Chairman

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and MENLO PARK, Calif., July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DelMar Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DMPI) ("DelMar" and the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company developing new cancer therapies, today announced that Mr. Saiid Zarrabian has joined the Company's Board of Directors and Dr. Erich Mohr has been elected to serve as its Chairman. 

This Board strengthening initiative seeks to establish a more robust and independent Board, and to enable Jeffery Bacha, who has been both the Company's CEO and chairman since inception in 2010, to focus on his growing operational role as CEO.

"With the planned expansion of clinical trials for VAL-083 across different oncology indications and stages of disease, DelMar has reached a point in its corporate and clinical maturation where we are excited to have access to Saiid's operational expertise and experience guiding multiple companies in their transition from scientific development to commercial success," commented Jeffrey Bacha, DelMar's president & chief executive officer.

"Furthermore, I am very pleased that Erich has agreed to take on the role of Chairman as his executive leadership, clinical development and company building experience will greatly benefit DelMar as we continue the next phase of our growth.  In the near term, this includes the launch of the VAL-083 STAR-3 GBM trial – our pivotal phase 3 clinical trial in refractory GBM – as well as the expansion of our clinical portfolio into newly diagnosed GBM and other indications," added Mr. Bacha.

Saiid Zarrabian comes to DelMar with over 30 years of senior executive or board member experience for multiple public and private companies, culminating in the creation of more than three billion dollars of shareholder value.

Mr. Zarrabian is currently serving as an advisor to Redline Capital Partners, S.A., a Luxemburg based investment firm. Mr. Zarrabian has previously served as Chairman and member of the Board of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company during the company's transition from an OTC listed company to a successful NASDAQ listed company. Mr. Zarrabian previously served as president of the Protein Production Division of Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company; as CEO & member of the Board of Cyntellect, Inc., a stem cell processing and visualization Instrumentation company until it's sale in 2012; as president and COO of Senomyx, Inc., a company focused on discovery and commercialization of new flavor ingredients; as COO of Pharmacopeia, Inc., a former publicly-traded provider of combinatorial chemistry discovery services and compounds, where he also served as president & COO of its MSI Division. In addition, Mr. Zarrabian has served on numerous private and public company boards, including at Immune Therapeutics, Inc.; Exemplar Pharma, LLC; Ambit Biosciences Corporation; eMolecules, Inc.; and Penwest Pharmaceuticals CO. His other experience includes COO at Molecular Simulations, COO of Symbolics, Inc., and as R&D Director at Computervision, Inc.

Dr. Erich Mohr, Ph.D., R. Psych., has served as a director of DelMar since March 31, 2015 and has nearly two decades of biotechnology experience in executive leadership roles as co-founder, chief scientific officer, chief executive officer and board member, leading to well over a billion dollars of value creation. Dr. Mohr has overseen and participated in dozens of clinical development programs and regulatory advisory panels. He is currently chairman, chief executive officer and founder of MedGenesis Therapeutix, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics to provide life-enhancing treatments to patients with serious neurologic diseases. Formerly, he was chairman and chief executive officer of CroMedica Global Inc., which merged with PRA International in 2002 to form one of the major contract research organizations in the world. In addition to his industry experience, Dr. Mohr has over 30 years of academic experience in experimental therapeutics of CNS disorders including eight years at the University of Ottawa, ultimately as a Professor of Medicine (Neurology) and Psychology. Dr. Mohr is the author of over 150 publications, books, book chapters and abstracts. He is the former chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Victoria. He earned his Masters of Science and Ph.D. in Neuropsychology at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and dual Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and Biology from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

Additionally, to facilitate DelMar's growth and align interests with shareholders, the Company has adopted an Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, which will be presented to shareholders for approval at the Company's Annual General Meeting.  The Company also announced that it plans to review its corporate policies and consider additional steps to align interests with shareholders and that it has adopted a policy to provide for a shareholder advisory vote on the Company's compensation philosophy every two years at its Annual General Meeting. 

Under the Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, 3,487,785 common shares are reserved for issuance, of which 1,756,880 represent options previously granted or reserved under the DelMar Pharmaceuticals (BC) Ltd. 2013 Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan.

Securities issued under the Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan will not vest or become exercisable until the plan is approved by shareholders.

About DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing cancer therapies in indications where patients are failing or have become intolerable to modern targeted or biologic treatments. The Company's pipeline is based around VAL-083, a "first-in-class," small-molecule chemotherapeutic with a novel mechanism of action that has demonstrated clinical activity against a range of cancers including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), ovarian and other solid tumors (e.g. NSCLC, bladder cancer, head & neck) in U.S. clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). VAL-083 has received an orphan drug designation in Europe for the treatment of malignant gliomas and the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products has granted an orphan designation for the treatment of glioma, medulloblastoma and ovarian cancer. In 2017, the Company plans to file an IND for VAL-083 in ovarian cancer, enter into a pivotal randomized multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of bevacizumab-failed GBM, a phase II trial (with MD Anderson Cancer Center) in first recurrence GBM patients prior to bevacizumab therapy, and into a separate international Phase 2 trial for newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated GBM.

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Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations and to conduct research and development, clinical studies and future product commercialization; and, the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including, our current reports on Form 8-K.

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SOURCE DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.