Mr. Korenberg is a seasoned executive with significant operational and financial leadership experience, including senior roles at Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) and in healthcare investment banking at Goldman Sachs

WAYNE, Pa., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palvella Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies to treat patients suffering from serious, rare genetic skin diseases for which there are no FDA-approved therapies, today announced the appointment of Matthew E. Korenberg as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Korenberg is a seasoned operational and financial leader with more than 27 years of senior executive experience in biotech companies and healthcare investment banking. Throughout his career, he has focused on capital raising, partnering and licensing deals, acquisitions, as well as overseeing public company operations related to investor relations and public reporting.

“I am thrilled to welcome Matt to the Palvella senior leadership team. Matt’s proven track record in public company corporate finance and strategy, operations, and capital markets will be instrumental to Palvella as we advance our rare disease pipeline and progress our lead product candidate QTORIN™ rapamycin to potential regulatory approvals and U.S. commercialization,” said Wes Kaupinen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Palvella. “We look forward to Matt’s significant contributions as we work towards achieving our vision of becoming the leading rare disease company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies to treat patients suffering from serious, rare genetic skin diseases.”

Mr. Korenberg joins Palvella from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: LGND), where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 2022 and Chief Financial Officer from 2015 to 2022. Prior to Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Korenberg was the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of NeuroCircuit Therapeutics, a company focused on developing drugs to treat genetic disorders of the brain with an initial focus on Down syndrome. Mr. Korenberg previously served as a Managing Director and member of the healthcare investment banking team at The Goldman Sachs Group from 1999 to 2013. During his 14-year tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Korenberg focused on advising and financing companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Mr. Korenberg currently serves on the board of directors, including the audit committee, of Lifecore Biomedical Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR), a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization. He earned a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan.

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“I am excited to join Palvella at such a dynamic time. The combination of a dedicated leadership team, patented QTORIN™ platform technology, and promising late-stage rare disease pipeline position the company well for growth,” said Mr. Korenberg. “I look forward to leading Palvella’s transformation to a public company and addressing the unmet needs of people with serious, rare genetic skin diseases.”

About Palvella Therapeutics
Founded and led by rare drug disease drug development veterans, Palvella Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies to treat patients suffering from serious, rare genetic skin diseases for which there are no FDA-approved therapies. Palvella is developing a broad pipeline of product candidates based on its patented QTORIN™ platform, with an initial focus on serious, rare genetic skin diseases, many of which are lifelong in nature. Palvella’s lead product candidate, QTORIN 3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel (QTORIN™ rapamycin), is currently in clinical development for microcystic lymphatic malformations (microcystic LMs) and cutaneous venous malformations.

In July 2024, Palvella and Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PIRS) announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the development and commercialization of Palvella’s products, the potential benefits and attributes of such products, and the company’s expectations regarding its prospects, including the potential merger with Pieris Pharmaceuticals. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. Palvella undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.

No Offer or Solicitation
This press release is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote in any jurisdiction pursuant to the proposed transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act. Subject to certain exceptions to be approved by the relevant regulators or certain facts to be ascertained, the public offer will not be made directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction, or by use of the mails or by any means or instrumentality (including without limitation, telephone and the internet) of interstate or foreign commerce, or any facility of a national securities exchange, of any such jurisdiction.

NEITHER THE SEC NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS PRESS RELEASE IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE.

Important Additional Information About the Proposed Transactions Will be Filed with the SEC
In connection with the proposed transaction between Pieris and Palvella, Pieris intends to file relevant materials with the SEC, including a registration statement on Form S-4 that will contain a proxy statement and prospectus of Pieris and an information statement of Palvella. PIERIS URGES INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS TO READ THESE MATERIALS CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE MATERIALS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PIERIS, PALVELLA, THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus/information statement and other documents filed by Pieris with the SEC (when they become available) through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus/information statement and other documents filed by Pieris with the SEC free of charge on Pieris’ website at www.pieris.com, or by contacting Investor Relations by email at info@pieris.com. Investors and stockholders are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus/information statement and the other relevant materials when they become available before making any voting or investment decision with respect to the proposed transaction.

Participants in the Solicitation
Palvella, Pieris and their respective directors and executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about Pieris’ directors and executive officers is included in Pieris’ most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, including any information incorporated therein by reference, as filed with the SEC on March 29, 2024, and amended on April 29, 2024. Additional information regarding the persons who may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus/information statement relating to the proposed transaction when it is filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

Contact Information
Investors
Wesley H. Kaupinen
Founder and CEO, Palvella Therapeutics
wes.kaupinen@palvellatx.com

Media
Stephanie Jacobson
Managing Director, Argot Partners
palvella@argotpartners.com

HONG KONG (AP) — China will expand the amount of financing available for housing projects on a “white list” to 4 trillion yuan ($562 billion), officials said Thursday in Beijing’s latest moves to reverse a slump in the property industry.

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong said during a news conference Thursday in Beijing that measures will also be taken to redevelop 1 million urban villages across the country.

The government has been redoubling efforts in recent weeks to stabilize the real estate market after a downturn triggered by a crackdown on excess borrowing. Once a bright spot in China’s economy, the property market has since become a drag.

On Saturday, authorities announced that they would allow local governments to use funds from unallocated government bond quotas and to raise debt ceilings to help prop up the property market.

In late September, the outstanding mortgage rates for individual borrowers were also cut by an average of 0.5 percentage points, and the minimum down payment ratio on purchases of second homes was also lowered to 15% from 25%.

In January, officials announced a list of housing projects that would be eligible for financing. Loans for such projects had reached 2.23 trillion yuan ($313 billion) as of Wednesday, said Xiao Yuanqi, deputy director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

Experian is providing debt relief and financial education, products and services to more than 5,000 Hispanics nationwide.

The initiative is a response to findings that high numbers of Hispanics lack access to bank accounts and credit and that they report feeling the least financial security compared to other populations, the global data and technology company said in a Monday (Oct. 14) press release.

“Our research has revealed that some factors impacting Hispanics’ financial health are barriers to accessing credit, lack of credit history or limited financial education,” Jeff Softley, group president of Experian Consumer Services, said in the release. “We hope this initiative will help these families have a better chance at financial security and spread the word in the community that there are free resources from Experian available that they can utilize to reach their financial goals.”

As part of its initiative, Experian is relieving $10 million of consumer debt for more than 5,000 Hispanics, according to the release. The company is working with ForgiveCo to administer the acquisition and cancellation of qualifying consumer debt for the selected beneficiaries.

Experian is also providing the recipients with a free one-year premium Experian membership, the release said. The membership includes access to their Experian credit report in English and Spanish, their FICO score, bilingual educational content, an insurance comparison shopping service, help with canceling subscriptions, and credit card options tailored to their financial profile.

The company will also offer access to Experian Go to those who do not have an Experian credit file established due to having no or limited credit history, per the release. Experian Go is a free program that allows individuals to create an Experian credit report and populate it with payment history for eligible bills, which could generate their first FICO score.

Experian launched Experian Go in January 2022, saying the program aims to help almost 50 million “credit invisibles,” or people with limited or no credit history, start building credit.

The company said at the time that its research showed that there were 28 million credit-invisible consumers and another 21 million who had a limited credit history.