NEW YORK and LONDON, Sept. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akari Therapeutics, Plc (Nasdaq: AKTX), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative therapeutics to treat orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where complement (C5) and/or leukotriene (LTB4) systems are implicated, today announced that Miles Nunn, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Akari Therapeutics, and James Fettiplace, M.D., Medical Director, Akari Therapeutics, will present the Company’s Phase III planned pivotal study of nomacopan in patients with moderate to severe bullous pemphigoid (BP) at the International Pemphigus & Pemphigoid Foundation (IPPF) Virtual Patient Education Conference.

The IPPF’s main focus is to improve the quality of life for all those affected by pemphigus and pemphigoid through early diagnosis and support. The 2020 Virtual Patient Education Conference will be an educational event for all stakeholders in the field of bullous disease as the conference will present on disease research and trends, educate on disease management, and elevate awareness.

“The IPPF community is excited to have Akari Therapeutics participating in the 2020 IPPF Virtual Patient Education Conference,” said Marc Yale, IPPF Advocacy & Research Coordinator. “Research and drug development in pemphigoid are on the horizon, and clinical trials, like the use of nomacopan in bullous pemphigoid, will advance our understanding of the disease and address the unmet medical need of patients. We are pleased to be working together with patients, physicians, researchers, and industry to ensure that we fulfil this promise."

“Akari very much looks forward to partnering with the IPPF to understand as much as possible the perspective of patients and carers in bullous pemphigoid. This vital understanding will ensure that the Phase III study has patients at the center of our thinking,” said James Fettiplace, Medical Director, Akari Therapeutics.

Details of Akari’s presentation are as follows:

To access the live webcast and subsequent archived recording of the presentation, please visit the ‘Events’ page in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.akaritx.com and register for the IPPF conference. You may also register directly for the IPPF conference here: IPPF Conference Registration.

About Akari Therapeutics

Akari is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing inhibitors of acute and chronic inflammation, specifically for the treatment of rare and orphan diseases, in particular those where the complement (C5) or leukotriene (LTB4) systems, or both complement and leukotrienes together, play a primary role in disease progression. Akari's lead drug candidate, nomacopan (formerly known as Coversin), is a C5 complement inhibitor that also independently and specifically inhibits leukotriene B4 (LTB4) activity. Nomacopan is currently being clinically evaluated in four target indications: bullous pemphigoid (BP), thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC), and COVID-19 pneumonia.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should not place undue reliance upon the Company’s forward looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties for our company include, but are not limited to: needs for additional capital to fund our operations, our ability to continue as a going concern; uncertainties of cash flows and inability to meet working capital needs; an inability or delay in obtaining required regulatory approvals for nomacopan and any other product candidates, which may result in unexpected cost expenditures; our ability to successfully develop nomacopan as a treatment for COVID-19 related pneumonia and to successfully commercialize any product in that indication; our ability to obtain orphan drug designation in additional indications; risks inherent in drug development in general and risks specific to the development of potential treatments for COVID-19 related illnesses; uncertainties in obtaining successful clinical results for nomacopan and any other product candidates and unexpected costs that may result therefrom; difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials; our ability to enter into collaborative, licensing, and other commercial relationships and on terms commercially reasonable to us; failure to realize any value of nomacopan and any other product candidates developed and being developed in light of inherent risks and difficulties involved in successfully bringing product candidates to market; inability to develop new product candidates and support existing product candidates; the approval by the FDA and EMA and any other similar foreign regulatory authorities of other competing or superior products brought to market; risks resulting from unforeseen side effects; risk that the market for nomacopan may not be as large as expected; risks associated with the impact of the outbreak of coronavirus; risks associated with the SEC investigation; inability to obtain, maintain and enforce patents and other intellectual property rights or the unexpected costs associated with such enforcement or litigation; inability to obtain and maintain commercial manufacturing arrangements with third party manufacturers or establish commercial scale manufacturing capabilities; the inability to timely source adequate supply of our active pharmaceutical ingredients from third party manufacturers on whom the company depends; unexpected cost increases and pricing pressures and risks and other risk factors detailed in our public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Except as otherwise noted, these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

For more information
Investor Contact:

Peter Vozzo
Westwicke
(443) 213-0505
peter.vozzo@westwicke.com

Media Contact:

Sukaina Virji / Lizzie Seeley
Consilium Strategic Communications
+44 (0)20 3709 5700
Akari@consilium-comms.com

Source: Akari Therapeutics Plc