Phagenesis Appoints Chad Hoskins as Chief Executive Officer Following Recent Closing of $42 Million Series D Funding

• This accomplished executive brings a strong background in business expansion in the United States.

• The company is focused on accelerating the adoption of Phagenyx® to treat more patients in the United States and abroad. Europe.

• Phagenyx® is a novel therapy that uses neurostimulation to restore swallowing control in patients with severe swallowing disorders (dysphagia).

MANCHESTER, England, September 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Phagenesis, a pioneering company that has developed a first-of-its-kind neurostimulation system to treat swallowing disorders, today announced the appointment of Chad Hoskins as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The seasoned executive brings decades of experience developing innovative medical technology therapies, driving commercial growth in the United States, and executing strategic objectives.

“We are extremely excited to have Chad join the company at this critical phase of growth as we build on our success in Europe and as we expand the use of Phagenyx® in the United States,” said Oern Stuge, MD, Chairman of the Board of Phagenesis. “His relentless focus on improving patient care and extensive experience in commercializing new technologies will support the company’s efforts to bring our life-changing therapy to more patients in the United States, Europe and beyond.”

The Company previously announced that it had closed a $42 million Series D financing, led by EQT Life Sciences and Sectoral Asset Management, with new investors British Patient Capital, Northern Gritstone and Aphelion. This financing is primarily intended to support the commercialization efforts of Phagenyx® in the United States and Europe. Phagenyx® is the first and only pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES) therapy that directly treats neurogenic dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), which is most commonly caused by stroke. Each year, approximately 12.2 million people worldwide will suffer a stroke.¹ and more than 50% of them will suffer from dysphagia,² which will lead to decreased quality of life, malnutrition, increased risk of death, longer hospital stays and higher health care costs.

Read more

Mr. Hoskins has more than two decades of experience launching innovative medical technologies. Most recently, he served as CEO of Axon Therapies, which is developing a novel denervation technology to treat heart failure. Prior to joining Axon, he led commercial strategy for Outset Medical, where he developed the company’s initial commercialization plan and supported multiple fundraising rounds, including a successful IPO. Prior to Outset, Mr. Hoskins was a division vice president for heart failure therapies at Abbott and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Loss of swallowing function after stroke can be physically and emotionally devastating for patients and costly for healthcare providers to manage. Phagenyx’s non-surgical, implant-free approach to restoring swallowing function significantly improves quality of life for patients and reduces the cost and complexity of care for providers,” said Hoskins. “I am excited and honored to build on the company’s early successes into this next phase of global growth and expand our partnership with clinicians who have so few options to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for their patients with dysphagia.”

ABOUT DYSPHAGIA
Dysphagia is the difficulty or inability to swallow and can result from many etiologies, including central nervous system and/or cranial nerve injuries (stroke, traumatic brain injury) and can also occur following intensive care interventions (intubation, tracheostomy). Dysphagia resulting from disruption of the neurological systems or processes involved in safe and coordinated swallowing is called neurogenic dysphagia. Dysphagia is associated with many complications, including aspiration and aspiration-induced pneumonia, reintubation, malnutrition, dehydration, and dietary modification or dependence on tube feeding. Dysphagia increases the risk of death by 3 months by 8.5-fold³ and adds about $20 billion to the cost of care each year for stroke patients alone⁴.

ABOUT PHAGENESIS
Founded in 2007, Phagenesis® Ltd is a privately held medical technology company co-founded by Dr. Conor Mulrooney and the teacher To Shaheen Hamdy The University of Manchester. Phagenesis delivers innovative treatments for neurogenic dysphagia using pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES). The company is backed by EQT Life Sciences, Sectoral Asset Management, British Patient Capital, Northern Gritstone and Aphelion. The Phagenyx® neurostimulation system is commercially available in Europe and in the United States. For more information, visit www.phagenesis.com.

References:

1. World Stroke Organization. Impact of Stroke. 2024
2.  Martino R, Foley N, et al. Dysphagia after stroke : incidence, diagnostic et complications pulmonaires. Stroke. 2005;36(12):2756-2763
3. Arnold M., Liesirova K., et al. Dysphagia in Acute Stroke: Incidence, Burden, and Impact on Clinical Outcome. PLoS ONE 2016;11(2):e0148424.
4.  Qureshi AI, Suri MFK, et al. Annual Direct Cost of Dysphagia Associated with Acute Ischemic Stroke in the United States. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 2022;31(5):106407

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2496977/Chad_Hoskins.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2496978/Phagenesis_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/press-releases/phagenesis-names-chad-hoskins-chief-executive-officer-following-recent-closing-of-$42-million-series-d-financing-302239415.html