Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Appoints Bryan Wahl, MD, JD as General Counsel

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TARS), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover and deliver breakthrough treatments to transform the lives of patients with common and poorly treated diseases, starting with the eye, today announced the appointment of Bryan Wahl, MD, JD to the position of General Counsel. Dr. Wahl brings over 15 years of broad legal experience, including significant intellectual property (IP), corporate, and transactional expertise, to the position. In this role, he will provide strategic direction as Tarsus expands its innovative product pipeline, beginning with TP-03 for the potential treatment of Demodex blepharitis.

Most recently, Dr. Wahl was a Partner at Knobbe Martens LLP in Orange County, where he focused on intellectual property protection, infringement studies, and due diligence for financings and strategic transactions, specifically with respect to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. In this role, Dr. Wahl counseled clients from the pre-Series A stage through exit, including Tarsus, which has been one of his clients since shortly after it was founded. Dr. Wahl has received numerous accolades and recognition for his work at the firm. In addition to his law practice, Dr. Wahl has practiced inpatient internal medicine since 2002, most recently as a per diem hospitalist with Kaiser Permanente, caring for patients both on hospital wards and in the ICU.

“Since its founding, Tarsus has pursued meaningful innovation to address unmet patient needs,” said Bobak Azamian, MD, PhD, CEO, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “As we continue to make our vision a reality, we are thrilled to welcome Bryan in the role of General Counsel. His unique combination of legal and medical expertise and breadth of corporate legal experience in strategic transactions and intellectual property will be invaluable to our leadership team as we discover and develop transformational new assets, both in eye care and other therapeutic areas.”

Prior to joining Knobbe Martens, Dr. Wahl entered medical school after one undergraduate year, and received his medical degree with honors from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in 1999. He completed an internal medicine residency in the UCLA-affiliated Cedars-Sinai Medical Center program in Los Angeles in 2002, and is board certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Wahl earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2005. In law school, he received three American Jurisprudence Awards, two Prosser Awards, and the Barbee Fellowship, researching conflicts of interest of hospital institutional review boards, and was a summer extern for the Honorable Ronald T.Y. Moon, Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

“It’s an honor and a pleasure to join Tarsus as the company continues to evolve and advance its mission,” said Dr. Wahl. “In this new role, I look forward to helping Tarsus develop truly innovative, important therapies, creating tangible value for patients, practitioners, and stakeholders.”

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover and deliver breakthrough treatments to transform the lives of patients with common and poorly treated diseases, starting with the eye. It is advancing its pipeline to address several diseases across therapeutic categories including eye care, dermatology, and other diseases with high, unmet needs. Its lead product candidate, TP-03, is a novel therapeutic in Phase 2b/3 that is being developed for the treatment of Demodex blepharitis.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements include statements regarding future events and Tarsus’ plans for and the anticipated benefits of its product candidates, the timing, objectives and results of the clinical studies and anticipated regulatory and development milestones. The words, without limitation, “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will” or “would” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these or similar identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, and are detailed from time to time in the reports Tarsus files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are posted on its website and are available from Tarsus without charge. However, new risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the current expectations of Tarsus’ management team and speak only as of the date hereof, and Tarsus specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contact:
Allison Howell
Pascale Communications, LLC
allison@pascalecommunications.com

Investor Contact:
Patti Bank
Westwicke Partners, an ICR company
(415) 513-1284
IR@tarsusrx.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/280c8aad-5a23-4670-be0b-9c3585d3d383