REDWOOD CITY, California, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Coherus BioSciences, Inc. ("Coherus"), announced today the appointment of V. Bryan Lawlis, Jr., Ph.D., former President and CEO of Itero Biopharmaceuticals, to its Board of Directors.

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"It is a privilege to join this talented Board of Directors, and I am excited about the opportunity to work with the Board and management to make Coherus the leader in the emerging business of biosimilars," Dr. Lawlis stated. "I look forward to working with Denny and his veteran team of biopharmaceutical industry experts as we strive to bring the highest quality biosimilars to patients worldwide."

"Bryan is a seasoned executive who brings over 33 years of scientific and technical leadership in the biopharmaceutical process sciences to Coherus," said Denny Lanfear, President and CEO of Coherus. "As Chairman of our Scientific Advisory Board, Bryan made significant contributions to the advancement of our products with the support of the other distinguished scientists on our SAB.  Bryan brings an essential skillset and experience base to our Board of Directors as we prepare for commercialization of our biosimilar therapeutics and scale up operations."

Dr. Lawlis co-founded and served as President and CEO of Itero Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2006 until it discontinued operations in August 2011. Prior to Itero, he was President and CEO of Aradigm Corporation from August 2004 and served on its Board of Directors from February 2005, continuing in both capacities until August 2006.  Dr. Lawlis served as Aradigm Corporation's President and COO from June 2003 to August 2004.

Dr. Lawlis co-founded Covance Biotechnology Services, a contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing operation, and served as its President and CEO from 1996 to 1999, and Chairman from 1999 to 2001, when it was sold to Diosynth, Inc., a division of Akzo Nobel, NV.  From 1981 to 1996, Dr. Lawlis was employed at Genencor, Inc., and Genentech, Inc.  His last position at Genentech, Inc. was Vice President of Process Sciences.

Dr. Lawlis holds board memberships on the publicly traded companies of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc., Geron, Inc. and KaloBios, Inc.  In addition, Dr. Lawlis serves on the boards of two private companies, Sutro Biopharma, Inc. and Reform, LLC.

Dr. Lawlis holds a B.A. in Microbiology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Washington State University.

About Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

Coherus is a leading biologics platform company focused on delivering high-quality biosimilar therapeutics that will expand patient access to life-changing medications worldwide. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded by a group of biotech pioneers who helped build America's first generation biotherapeutics industry, Coherus has developed a collaborative business model that leverages a strategic consortium of service providers aligned through ownership and shared incentives. Coherus' global commercialization partnerships include top-tier biopharma companies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Biosimilars are intended for use in place of existing, branded biologics to treat a range of chronic and often life-threatening diseases, with the potential to reduce costs and expand patient access. For additional information, please visit www.coherus.com.

Contact – Beth Jimison – bjimison@coherus.com  +1.650.649.3526

SOURCE Coherus BioSciences