ProNAi Therapeutics Appoints Jeffrey H. Cooper and Tran Nguyen to its Board of Directors

- Company opens San Francisco area office -

VANCOUVER, March 18, 2016 /CNW/ - ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: DNAI), a clinical-stage oncology company advancing novel therapeutics for patients with cancer and hematological diseases, today announced the appointments of Mr. Jeffrey H. Cooper and Mr. Tran Nguyen to its Board of Directors, effective today. ProNAi also announced that it has opened an office in the San Francisco area, where ProNAi's development team led by Dr. Barb Klencke is primarily located.

"Mr. Cooper and Mr. Nguyen both have extensive and relevant experiences in guiding the financial functions of public healthcare companies. Each gentleman brings a commitment to the important role of sound financial management in governing an emerging public company," said Donald Parfet, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ProNAi. Dr. Nick Glover, President and CEO of ProNAi added: "We appreciate the commitments Jeff and Tran are making to advancing ProNAi and look forward to their contributions. We also thank the outgoing directors, Mr. Alvin Vitangcol who is resigning today and Dr. Albert Cha who will be stepping down after the 2016 annual stockholders meeting, for their guidance and support through ProNAi's growth and successful transition into a public company."

Mr. Cooper has served as an independent consultant for life science companies since January 2014. Previously, Mr. Cooper served at KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, as a senior advisor from November 2013 until December 2013 and as the Chief Financial Officer from July 2012 until October 2013. Prior to joining KaloBios, Mr. Cooper served in positions of increasing responsibility at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, beginning as Vice President, Controller, to his most recent position as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to May 2012. He has also served as Vice President of Finance at Matrix Pharmaceutical, Inc. and held numerous finance-related positions within the health care and pharmaceutical industries, including Corporate Controller at Foundation Health Systems and Director of Business Analysis at Syntex Corporation. He also currently serves on the board of directors of Tobira Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Cooper received a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Mr. Nguyen has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Prothena Corporation plc, a biotechnology company, since March 2013. Previously, Mr. Nguyen served at Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2011 and Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer from 2011 until its sale in 2013. He has also served as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer at Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc., as a Vice President in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Citi Global Markets, Inc. and in various capacities as a healthcare investment banker at Lehman Brothers, Inc. Mr. Nguyen received a BA from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

ProNAi's new San Francisco area office will be located at 1000 Marina Blvd., Suite 450, Brisbane, California 94005. ProNAi maintains its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada and operates a research facility at the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center, Plymouth, Michigan.

About ProNAi Therapeutics

ProNAi Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company advancing novel therapeutics for patients with cancer and hematological diseases. ProNAi's lead product candidate, PNT2258, is based on the company's pioneering and proprietary DNAi technology platform. PNT2258 is designed to target cancers that overexpress BCL2, an important and validated oncogene known to be dysregulated in many types of cancer. ProNAi is pursuing a multi-faceted clinical development strategy designed to efficiently achieve regulatory approval and maximize the commercial opportunity of PNT2258. ProNAi is actively enrolling patients in "Wolverine", a Phase 2 trial evaluating PNT2258 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and in "Brighton", a Phase 2 trial evaluating PNT2258 for the treatment of Richter's transformation. For more information, please visit www.pronai.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding ProNAi's anticipated clinical development and potential business development strategies. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others, the risk that ProNAi may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize PNT2258 or any other future product candidates, PNT2258 may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy or may not otherwise produce positive results, ProNAi may experience delays in clinical trials, including due to difficulties enrolling patients, ProNAi's third-party manufacturers may cause its supply of materials to become limited or interrupted or fail to be of satisfactory quantity or quality, ProNAi's cash resources may be insufficient to fund its current operating plans and it may be unable to raise additional capital when needed, ProNAi may be unable to obtain and enforce intellectual property protection for its technologies and product candidates and the other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" set forth in ProNAi's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ProNAi undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE ProNAi Therapeutics Inc.

James Smith, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, ProNAi Therapeutics, 604.558.6545, [email protected]