NGM Bio Expands Board of Directors with Appointment of Carole Ho, M.D.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NGM) (Nasdaq: NGM), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing transformative therapeutics for patients, today announced the appointment of Carole Ho, M.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Ho currently serves as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development at Denali Therapeutics.

“Carole’s background as a physician-scientist with deep industry expertise is ideally suited to NGM’s culture and vision, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our Board,” said David J. Woodhouse, Ph.D., NGM’s Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to advance aldafermin, our lead candidate for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, toward late-stage development and commercialization. Simultaneously, we are progressing clinical programs in oncology and ophthalmology, including NGM621, our anti-complement C3 antibody program for geographic atrophy. Given Carole’s experience spanning early- to late-stage clinical development, we look forward to her insights as we design and execute our late-stage NASH clinical development program and other clinical programs and translate various exciting, novel early-stage opportunities into viable clinical development candidates.”

Dr. Ho commented, “NGM has carved out a prominent position in the NASH development landscape with aldafermin. In addition, powered by its deep biologics and biology research engine, coupled with a strong clinical development infrastructure, NGM has built a pipeline that extends well beyond NASH. It takes creativity and a thoughtful strategy, particularly for an emerging growth company, to nurture clinical programs to fruition in multiple therapeutic areas. I look forward to working with David, my fellow NGM board members and the NGM team to maximize the breadth of opportunities for NGM and, in turn, for patients.”

In her role as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development at Denali since 2015, Dr. Ho has built an integrated development organization that is responsible for guiding therapeutic candidates from pre-IND enabling studies through to ultimate approval. Prior to joining Denali, Dr. Ho served as Vice President of Early Clinical Development at Genentech, where she was responsible for the delivery of pivotal trial-ready therapeutic candidates for all non-oncology indications, including CV-metabolism, ophthalmology, neurology, infectious disease, respiratory, rheumatology and gastroenterology. During her eight years at Genentech, Dr. Ho held several senior leadership roles across multiple early- and late-stage clinical programs in various therapeutic areas. Earlier in her career, Dr. Ho served as a visiting scientist at Genentech in the laboratory of Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Ph.D., and also as a Faculty Member in the Department of Neurology at Stanford University.

Dr. Ho completed her residency in neurology at Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident. She earned her M.D. from Cornell University and her B.S. in biochemical sciences from Harvard College. In addition to her appointment to NGM’s Board, Dr. Ho also serves on the Board of Directors of Beam Therapeutics.

About NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

NGM is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics based on scientific understanding of key biological pathways underlying cardio-metabolic, liver, oncologic and ophthalmic diseases. We leverage our biology-centric drug discovery approach to uncover novel mechanisms of action and generate proprietary insights that enable us to move rapidly into proof-of-concept studies and deliver potential first-in-class medicines to patients. At NGM, we aspire to operate one of the most productive research and development engines in the biopharmaceutical industry, with multiple programs in clinical development. Visit us at  for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “look forward,” “advance,” “progress,” “position,” “maximize” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to: advancement of aldafermin toward late-stage development and other preclinical and clinical development progress; NGM’s potential breadth of opportunities; and other statements that are not historical fact. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on NGM’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, performance or achievements of NGM could differ materially from those described in or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with: the costly and time-consuming pharmaceutical product development process and the uncertainty of clinical success, including risks related to failure or delays in successfully enrolling or completing clinical studies, the risk that the results obtained to date in NGM’s clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained in pivotal or other late-stage trials, and the risk that NGM’s ongoing or future clinical studies in humans may show that aldafermin is not a tolerable and effective treatment for NASH patients; the evolving effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on NGM’s business and operations, as well as those of third parties on which NGM relies; the time-consuming and uncertain regulatory approval process; NGM’s reliance on third-party manufacturers for aldafermin and its other product candidates; the sufficiency of NGM’s cash resources and need for additional capital; and other risks and uncertainties affecting NGM and its development programs, including those described under the caption “Risk Factors” in NGM’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and future filings and reports that NGM makes from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, NGM assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.