It has now been almost 18 months since I started my CEO Perspectives blog. From the questions and comments I get about my posts, I can tell that many people find it useful and informative. I thought it might be a good time to take a look back at what I’ve covered over the past year and a half and also reiterate the purpose behind CEO Perspectives.
First and foremost, the blog provides a mechanism for more detailed and economical communication with multiple groups and constituencies. It allows discussion of issues and expansion of information that is not appropriate for, or is constrained by, other outlets such as press releases and formal presentations. The posts are published to the Web, emailed to list of those whom have signed up for receiving company information, and distributed on social media including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. The goal is to inform and attract a broad readership.
As a company, we want to be as transparent about our activities as possible, and we want to use cutting-edge methods of communication to do so.
The content of the blog is intended to address direct programs of Galectin Therapeutics, general areas of importance for fatty liver disease (including liver fibrosis and cirrhosis), and the importance of galectin proteins in various diseases. In concert with regular press releases and meeting presentations, CEO Perspectives provides content that can be distributed to many different types of audiences. It is important to note, however, that press releases and SEC regulatory filings remain the only routes for communicating material company information. While I have at times published posts that complement press releases, the blog serves to supplement official communications from the company, not replace them.
The audiences that we intend to reach through the blog include current shareholders, prospective shareholders and investors, industry analysts, pharma and biotech companies, patients and advocacy groups, and the industry and popular press.
One of the main drivers behind CEO Perspectives is to help investors understand the tremendous value of what Galectin Therapeutics is doing in developing potential treatments for NASH cirrhosis and other diseases. The value of the company over the next year rests on success of our ongoing programs, which were outlined in various press releases and include:
- Data from the NASH-CX trial in patients with NASH cirrhosis which is completely enrolled and is scheduled to report top line data in December 2017. (see recent press release)
- The possibility of developing pharma partnerships for treating psoriasis and atopic dermatitis based on our exciting results of clinical effects in an exploratory clinical trial. (see recent press release)
- Combination immunotherapy trials being performed at Providence Cancer Center which will have interim data reported at Immunotherapeutics & Immunomonitoring Conference, to be held on February 6-7, 2017, in San Diego, California. (see recent press release)
For our shareholders and prospective investors, the posts are meant to supplement information in press releases and conference presentations. Sometimes they will be directly relevant to the value creation programs above, and sometimes not. I continue to value the feedback I get from investors about the blog, but other audiences are also important to the company.
For example, multiple industry analysts and pharma companies have found the blog useful in assessing our technology and programs. Many of the patients who are in our clinical trials or who have relevant disorders, as well as patient advocacy groups, have indicated the blog is helpful for their education.
The press is another important audience for the blog. The blog posts have proven useful to educate and inform reporters, which has led to boarder coverage of the company. Some examples of these results are the articles in the following industry and popular press outlets:
- Pharmacy Times—“Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Drug Pipeline Overview”
- HealthZette—“The New Liver Killer: Silent, Sneaky, Deadly”
- Drug Discovery & Development—“Why Non-Invasive Testing is Needed for Liver Fibrosis”
- Newsweek—“NASH is the 21st century’s looming public health threat”
- R&D Magazine—“Finding the “Holy Grail” Treatment for Fatty Livers”
The CEO Perspectives blog is meant to be informative for multiple audiences, to serve as content to expand the knowledge and understanding of Galectin Therapeutics’ programs, to bring more people to an understanding of the potential of our programs, and to educate people about the medical science that touches on our ultimate success. The path to an interest in the company can take multiple paths, and the blog helps to facilitate a number of them. It is not the only component of our outreach, but it has served as a useful mechanism for communication. I hope that all our audiences continue to find the posts useful.
These “CEO Perspectives” are a regular feature of our communication activities and may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including whether GR-MD-02 may be effective in the treatment of NASH and various other diseases. These statements relate to future events and use words such as “may,” “might,” “could,” “expect” and others. For a discussion of additional factors impacting Galectin’s business, see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and subsequent filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although subsequent events may cause its views to change, management disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
