SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGM), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing transformative therapeutics for patients, today announced the appointment of Valerie Pierce as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to NGM,” said David J. Woodhouse, Ph.D., NGM’s Chief Executive Officer. “Valerie’s deep experience and expertise providing legal oversight and guidance to leading publicly traded biopharmaceutical companies will be an indispensable addition to NGM as we advance our broad pipeline of clinical programs and work to become an industry-leading biotech company in the areas of cardio-metabolic and liver disease, ophthalmic disease and cancer.”

“I’m excited to join NGM at this point in the company’s evolution as it builds on the ongoing accomplishments of its highly productive research engine to move product candidates into the clinic, including progressing its lead clinical candidate, aldafermin (NGM282) for the treatment of NASH, toward late-stage clinical development,” said Ms. Pierce. “I look forward to being a part of the mission-driven team at NGM, working together toward delivering meaningful medicines to patients in need.”

Valerie Pierce brings more than 25 years of experience providing broad legal guidance and leadership to public pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She joins NGM from Jazz Pharmaceuticals, where she worked since 2012, most recently as Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel. Before Jazz, Ms. Pierce worked as Vice President and Senior Transactional Counsel at Amyris, Inc., Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and in various in-house legal positions at the Institute for OneWorld Health, Tularik Inc. and ALZA Corporation. Ms. Pierce received a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the Yale Law School.

About NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

NGM is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutics based on scientific understanding of key biological pathways underlying cardio-metabolic, liver, oncologic and ophthalmic diseases. The company leverages its biology-centric drug discovery approach to uncover novel mechanisms of action and generate proprietary insights that enable it to move rapidly into proof-of-concept studies and deliver potential first-in-class medicines to patients. NGM aspires to operate one of the most productive research and development engines in the biopharmaceutical industry, with multiple programs in clinical development. Visit http://www.ngmbio.com for more information.