BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has named Ben Harshbarger as Senior Vice President, General Counsel. Mr. Harshbarger brings to Catabasis more than 20 years of experience at commercial-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

“Ben brings to Catabasis extensive senior legal and compliance experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including in product launches, and the transition from pre-commercial to commercial-stage. His deep expertise will be especially valuable in the coming months as we prepare for top-line results from the Phase 3 PolarisDMD trial and the potential commercialization of edasalonexent for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” said Jill C. Milne, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Catabasis. “We are delighted that Ben has joined the team and will be leveraging his operating and rare disease experience.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Catabasis team as we work towards making a new treatment option available to the Duchenne community,” said Mr. Harshbarger. “Catabasis is preparing for the potential future transition to a commercial organization, and I am excited to join at such an important time.”

Mr. Harshbarger most recently served as the Interim Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel at Novelion Therapeutics, Inc., the parent company of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to that, he served in several legal roles at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., including as Deputy General Counsel, VP, EMEA Legal Counsel, and Acting General Counsel and General Counsel. As Acting General Counsel and General Counsel, he played a critical role in revamping Aegerion’s compliance program. Mr. Harshbarger has also held senior legal positions at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Viacell, Inc. and Biogen, Inc. Mr. Harshbarger holds his JD from Boston College Law School, and his BA from the University of Richmond.

About Edasalonexent (CAT-1004)

Edasalonexent (CAT-1004) is an investigational oral small molecule designed to inhibit NF-kB that is being developed as a potential foundational therapy for all patients affected by DMD, regardless of their underlying mutation. In DMD the loss of dystrophin leads to chronic activation of NF-kB, which is a key driver of skeletal and cardiac muscle disease progression. Our ongoing global Phase 3 PolarisDMD trial is evaluating the efficacy and safety of edasalonexent for registration purposes. Edasalonexent is also being evaluated in the GalaxyDMD open-label extension trial. In our MoveDMD Phase 2 trial and open-label extension, we observed that edasalonexent preserved muscle function and substantially slowed disease progression compared to rates of change in a control period, and significantly improved biomarkers of muscle health and inflammation. The FDA has granted orphan drug, fast track, and rare pediatric disease designations and the European Commission has granted orphan medicinal product designation to edasalonexent for the treatment of DMD. For a summary of clinical results, please visit www.catabasis.com.

About Catabasis

At Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, our mission is to bring hope and life-changing therapies to patients and their families. Our lead program is edasalonexent, an NF-kB inhibitor in Phase 3 development for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. For more information on edasalonexent and our Phase 3 PolarisDMD trial, please visit www.catabasis.com.