XORTX Announces New Clinical Advisory Board Members

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XORTX Therapeutics Inc. ("XORTX" or the “Company”) (CSE:XRX; OTCQB:XRTXF), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat progressive kidney disease, is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to the Company’s clinical advisory board, Dr. Petter Bjornstad and Dr. Fred Maese.  

Dr. Allen Davidoff stated, “The appointment of Dr. Bjornstad and Dr. Maese to XORTX’s clinical advisory board will be important in the future development of our clinical programs in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and in diabetic nephropathy.  Their combined clinical experience treating patients with pre-diabetes, diabetes and cardiovascular disease represents a valuable resource for developing our clinical trial strategy and design. XORTX’s clinical advisory board now includes new members, Dr. Petter Bjornstad and Dr. Federico Maese and existing members, Dr. Richard Johnson and Dr. Henk ter Keurs.”

Dr. Bjornstad is a clinical researcher and an assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine in the department of pediatrics, division of endocrinology and department of medicine, division of nephrology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is a NIH and JDRF funded translational researcher with a track record of research potential and success. His lab (http://bjornstadlab.org) focuses on metabolic and hemodynamic mechanisms underlying the development of kidney disease, with an emphasis of renal physiology studies, mechanistic clinical trials, mathematical modeling and advanced functional imaging to quantify renal hemodynamic function, energetics and metabolism.

Dr. Bjornstad has authored over 70 peer reviewed manuscripts and several high impact journals including Circulation, Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, Diabetes Care, Diabetologia, American Journal of Kidney Disease and Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Bjornstad is the principal investigator of several ongoing studies, including: “Renal HEIR Study: Renal Hemodynamics, Energetics and Insulin Resistance in Youth Onset Type 2 Diabetes Study”, “IMPROVE-T2D Study: Impact of Metabolic Surgery on Pancreatic, Renal and CardiOVascular HEalth in Youth with Type 2 Diabetes”, “CASPER Study: Copeptin in Adolescent Participants with Type 1 Diabetes and Early Renal Hemodynamic Function”, “Dolphin-T1D Study: Define Renal Oxygenation Levels and Perfusion in Hyperfiltration in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes”, and “Diabetic Kidney Alarm (DKA) Study – Tubulopathy in New Onset Diabetic Ketoacidosis”.        

For additional information on Dr. Bjornstad’s recent work on uric acid, please visit the following link:
https://www.mdedge.com/clinicalendocrinologynews/article/169824/diabetes/uric-acid-tied-pediatric-diabetic-kidney-disease.

Dr. Fred Maese is a Texas-based M.D., cardiologist and clinical researcher with a focus on preventative cardiology, and more specifically on primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. In addition, Dr. Maese brings to XORTX an extensive clinical experience in the management of diabetic patients who have insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and extensive inflammation requiring aggressive primary and secondary prevention strategies to decrease cardiovascular events and progressive nephropathy, especially in various high risk gene pools.

In other news, the Company has issued an aggregate of 424,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company to a director and to consultants of the Company in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan.  The options are exercisable at a price of $0.50 per common share and expire five years from the date of grant, being October 9, 2023.

About XORTX Therapeutics Inc.

XORTX Therapeutics Inc. is a BioPharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat progressive kidney disease.  XORTX has lead programs to develop treatments for progressive kidney disease due to diabetes, diabetic nephropathy and polycystic kidney disease.  Secondary programs focus on developing therapies for health consequences that accompany pre-diabetes, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Additional information on XORTX Therapeutics is available at www.xortx.com.

For further information, please contact:

Allen Davidoff, CEO
adavidoff@xortx.com or +1 403 455 7727

or Erik Matthews, Corporate Communications
erik@xortx.com or +1 747 203 4250

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This news release includes forward looking statements that are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward looking statements, including without limitation any statements concerning the Company's intentions, plans, estimates, beliefs or expectations regarding the future. Although the Company believes that any such intentions, plans, estimates, beliefs and expectations in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such intentions, plans, beliefs and expectations will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions readers that all forward looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are based on assumptions none of which can be assured, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Any forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in the forward looking statements. The Company assumes no obligations to update any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Released October 15, 2018