Capricor Therapeutics Appoints Xavier Avat as Chief Business Officer

• Capricor Expands Senior Management Team to Build Commercial Strategy for Lead Asset, CAP-1002, and Further Develop Partnering Strategy for Proprietary Exosome Platform
• Formerly at Edwards Lifesciences, Gilead and Genentech, Mr. Avat Brings Over 25 Years of Business and Commercial Strategy Experience to Capricor

Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR), a biotechnology company focused on the development of transformative cell and exosome-based therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of a broad spectrum of diseases, today announced that it has appointed Xavier Avat as Chief Business Officer. In this role, Mr. Avat will oversee Capricor’s strategic priorities, the commercialization of its pipeline products and business development activities.

“As Capricor further unlocks the potential of our lead asset, CAP-1002, for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy and continues to expand its exosome platform, Xavier’s deep industry knowledge will be instrumental as we take the Company to the next stage of its evolution,” said Linda Marbán, Ph.D., CEO, Capricor. “Furthermore, Xavier’s strong leadership and strategy skills will help Capricor to bring its therapies to patients and their families who need them the most. As demonstrated by his highly successful track record across healthcare sectors and, in particular, at renowned biotech companies throughout his career, Xavier has what it takes to drive growth for Capricor in both the short- and long-term.”

Prior to joining Capricor, Mr. Avat served as Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Strategy and New Initiatives, at Edwards Lifesciences, a global medical technology leader, where he led the company’s global strategy and corporate performance metrics, as well as initiated and incubated market development and franchise initiatives. Before that, Mr. Avat served as Vice President, Corporate Development (in the Americas) and General Manager (Canada), at Santen Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Mr. Avat was with Gilead Sciences, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, including corporate development, as the GM of Latin America, and then as part of the U.S. team that launched Sovaldi. Earlier in his career, he held various leadership positions at Schering Plough (now Merck), Genentech and bioMérieux. Mr. Avat obtained his Master of Business Administration degree from Edhec Business School and a Master of Science degree in bioengineering from Polytech Lille in France.

“What separates Capricor from other biotechnology companies of its size in the industry is its innovative pipeline and differentiated technology platform,” added Mr. Avat. “I look forward to working alongside the Capricor leadership team to help realize its immense potential to build a new class of medicine for DMD patients. As CAP-1002 enters Phase 3, and as Capricor’s exosome platform further expands, I am confident that Capricor will continue making strides in the rare disease space and expand the Company’s industry-leading exosome technology platform into new therapeutic areas.”

About Capricor Therapeutics
Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPR) is a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative cell and exosome-based therapeutics and vaccines for treating and preventing a broad spectrum of diseases. Capricor`s lead candidate, CAP-1002, is an allogeneic cardiac-derived cell therapy that is currently in clinical development for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Capricor is also developing its exosome technology as a next-generation therapeutic platform. The Company’s current focus is on developing exosomes capable of delivering nucleic acids, including mRNA, as well as proteins to treat or prevent a variety of diseases.