9 August 2019 - - US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CATB) has appointed Hugh M. Cole to its board of directors, the company said.

Cole has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical business development experience and is currently the chief business officer and head of corporate development at Jounce Therapeutics.

Prior to Jounce Therapeutics, Cole served as chief business officer at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals from 2014 to 2017 and was previously at Shire Pharmaceuticals as senior vice president, Strategic Planning and Program Management from 2012 to 2014, Global Franchise Leader from 2009 to 2012, and head of Business Development for Shire's rare disease business from 2007 to 2009.

Cole holds an AB from Harvard University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Catabasis' lead programme is edasalonexent, an NF-kB inhibitor in development for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The global Phase 3 PolarisDMD trial is currently enrolling boys affected by Duchenne.