Exagen Appoints Wendy Johnson to Board of Directors

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exagen Inc. (Nasdaq: XGN), an organization dedicated to transforming the care continuum for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases, is proud to announce the addition of Ms. Wendy S. Johnson as an additional independent member to its Board of Directors, effective October 1, 2020. Ms. Johnson will also serve on the Audit Committee.

“We are excited to have added Ms. Wendy Johnson to our Board of Directors,” said Ron Rocca, Exagen’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Her experience and knowledge in the healthcare industry will be invaluable for the next phase of Exagen’s growth. Our corporate culture of being patient-focused and discovery-driven starts with our Board of Directors and extends out to every member of Exagen. The announcement of Ms. Johnson joining our Board of Directors underscores Exagen’s commitment to delivering on our promise.”

Ms. Johnson has a distinguished career in healthcare performing various roles integral to corporate growth. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Reneo Pharmaceuticals where she is responsible for day-to-day operations, and was instrumental in setting up the company’s UK corporate entity. Ms. Johnson was previously the Interim Chief Operating Officer of AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation from September 2014 to January 2017, and a member of its board of directors from May 2014 until its merger with C3J Therapeutics (Armata Pharmaceuticals) in May 2019. From 2005 to January 2014, Ms. Johnson served as a venture partner at ProQuest Investments, a venture capital firm. From 2006 to January 2014, Ms. Johnson served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aires Pharmaceuticals, a ProQuest portfolio company, until its sale to MAST Therapeutics in 2014. Prior to joining ProQuest, she held senior business and corporate development positions at Salmedix Inc., WomenFirst Healthcare, Prizm Pharmaceuticals (Selective Genetics Inc.), Cytel Corp., Synbiotics Corp., and Murex Corp. (Cambridge U.K.). Additionally, Ms. Johnson served as Assistant Director with the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ms. Johnson is also presently on the Board of Directors of MorphoSys AG, one of the oldest biotechnology companies in Europe. Ms. Johnson received an M.B.A. from Loyola University Maryland, her M.S. in Clinical Microbiology from the Hahnemann Medical School, and her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland.

About Exagen Inc.

Exagen is dedicated to transforming the care continuum for patients suffering from debilitating and chronic autoimmune diseases by enabling timely differential diagnosis and optimizing therapeutic intervention. Exagen has developed and is commercializing a portfolio of innovative testing products under its AVISE^® brand, several of which are based on its proprietary Cell-Bound Complement Activation Products, or CB-CAPs, technology. Exagen’s goal is to enable rheumatologists to improve care for patients through the differential diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of complex autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including SLE and rheumatoid arthritis. Exagen’s model of integrating testing products and therapeutics positions Exagen to offer targeted solutions to rheumatologists and, ultimately, better serve patients. For more information, please visit

CONTACTS:

Investors

Westwicke Partners

Mike Cavanaugh



646.677.1838

Company Contact

Exagen Inc.

Kamal Adawi, Chief Financial Officer



760.477.5514