Beyond Air Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Beyond Air Inc., a clinical-stage medical device and biopharmaceutical company focused on developing inhaled nitric oxide (NO) for the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions, including serious lung infections and pulmonary hypertension, and gaseous NO (gNO) for the treatment of solid tumors, has appointed Douglas Larson as chief financial officer (CFO), succeeding Douglas Beck. Beck will remain a consultant to the company and is working closely with Larson and the Beyond Air leadership team to ensure a seamless transition of CFO responsibilities.
 
Larson joins Beyond Air with more than 20 years of international and operational financial leadership experience. Recently he served as vice president, Finance, and head of Global Controlling at DBV Technologies Inc., a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in France, from 2017 to 2020. Prior to DBV, Larson served as CFO of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company’s International division, based in Lyon, France, from 2001 to 2015. Larson has a deep knowledge of performance management, supply chain finance, forecasting and business modeling, and defining and executing strategic and financial goals for companies in various stages of development across a diverse geographic footprint.
 
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire company, I want to thank Mr. Beck for his commitment to Beyond Air and continued support. Since joining in 2018, Mr. Beck has been instrumental to our success, leading with a forward-thinking mindset and establishing the financial foundation for our future development and growth. He leaves the company in a strong cash position, and I personally want to thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” commented Steve Lisi, chairman and CEO of Beyond Air. “This transition comes at a time of tremendous momentum for Beyond Air, and I am excited to welcome Douglas Larson to effectively guide the company through our transition to a commercial stage entity.”
 
In connection with the appointment of Larson, the company granted him an inducement stock option award as an inducement material to entering into employment with the company in accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The Inducement Option is exercisable for the purchase of 75,000 shares of the company’s common stock. The Inducement Option grant was approved by the independent compensation committee of the Board in accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The Inducement Option has a 10-year term and will vest over a four-year period, with 25 percent of the shares underlying the stock option award vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant and annually thereafter in three equal installments, subject to Larson’s continued service with the company through the applicable vesting dates. The Inducement Option is subject to the terms and conditions of the company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.
 
Beyond Air Inc. is a clinical-stage medical device and biopharmaceutical company developing a revolutionary NO Generator and Delivery System, LungFit, that uses NO generated from ambient air to deliver precise amounts of NO to the lungs for the potential treatment of a variety of pulmonary diseases. The LungFit can generate up to 400 ppm of NO, for delivery either continuously or for a fixed amount of time and has the ability to either titrate dose on demand or maintain a constant dose. The company is currently applying its therapeutic expertise to develop treatments for pulmonary hypertension in various settings, in addition to treatments for respiratory tract infections that are not effectively addressed with current standards of care. Beyond Air is currently advancing its LungFit for clinical trials for the treatment of severe lung infections such as acute viral pneumonia (including COVID-19) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Additionally, Beyond Air is using ultra-high concentrations of NO with a proprietary delivery system to target certain solid tumors in the pre-clinical setting.