Palisade Bio, Inc. has appointed Robert Baltera and Jordan Zwick to its Board of Directors, strengthening the board with expertise in biotechnology leadership, strategic transactions, and capital markets. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is advancing its lead program, PALI-2108, a once-daily oral PDE4 inhibitor prodrug, toward Phase 2 development for inflammatory bowel disease. The new directors are expected to support the company's clinical progress and long-term growth strategy.

Board Expertise and Strategic Value

JD Finley, Chief Executive Officer of Palisade Bio, stated that the combined expertise of Baltera and Zwick in biotechnology company building, strategic transactions, and corporate governance will provide meaningful value. Both executives have significant experience supporting innovative biotechnology companies through development, financing, and value creation stages.

Robert Baltera

Mr. Baltera is a Senior Advisor at Frazier Life Sciences with over three decades of experience. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Cirius Therapeutics and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Inipharm. His past roles include Chief Executive Officer of Amira Pharmaceuticals, which was sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2011 for $475 million, and Chairman of Mavupharma until its acquisition by AbbVie. He also served on the boards of Frazier Lifesciences Acquisition Corporation and Imago BioSciences, acquired by Merck. Earlier in his career, he held senior management positions at Amgen during a 17-year tenure.

Jordan Zwick

Mr. Zwick is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Mirador Therapeutics. He has advised on strategic transactions, including serving as a strategic advisor to Prometheus Biosciences prior to its acquisition by Merck in 2023 and to CrossBridge Bio through its acquisition by Eli Lilly in 2026. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Theratechnologies, Inc. prior to its sale to Future Pak in 2025. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Business Development and Investor Relations at Amarin Corporation and as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at InflaRx N.V. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of TruTechnologies and on the Advisory Board of the McKenna Life Sciences Program at Arizona State University.

Advancing PALI-2108

The appointments coincide with Palisade Bio's advancement of PALI-2108 toward Phase 2 clinical studies in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The program has generated positive clinical data from a Phase 1a trial and two Phase 1b clinical trials. The company is focused on transforming proven PDE4 biology into differentiated oral therapies for chronic inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.

Palisade Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALI) will present data on PALI-2108, a locally bioactivated PDE4 inhibitor prodrug, for the treatment of fibrostenotic Crohn's disease (FSCD) at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) symposium. The presentation, scheduled for June 9, 2026, in New York, NY, will address the unmet need in FSCD and the biological mechanisms underlying intestinal fibrosis. Mitchell Jones, MD, PhD, President and Chief Medical Officer of Palisade Bio, will lead the session, titled "Locally Bioactivated PDE4 Inhibitor Prodrug for the Treatment of Fibrostenotic Crohn's Disease (FSCD)."

The symposium, titled "Molecular Pathways and Cellular Players in the Resolution of Organ Fibrosis," will convene experts from academia, industry, and clinical research to discuss advances in fibrosis biology and emerging therapeutic strategies. Dr. Jones will emphasize the scientific rationale for PALI-2108 and preclinical findings supporting PDE4 inhibition as a strategy to modulate inflammatory and fibrotic pathways in FSCD.

"Fibrosis remains one of the most significant challenges facing patients with Crohn's disease, yet there are currently no approved therapies specifically designed to address FSCD," said Dr. Jones. "We are honored to participate in this important scientific meeting and look forward to contributing to the broader discussion surrounding fibrosis biology and emerging therapeutic strategies."

PALI-2108 is a once-daily oral PDE4 inhibitor prodrug designed for selective bioactivation in the ileum and colon, enabling targeted PDE4 inhibition at disease sites. The drug has shown positive results in Phase 1a and two Phase 1b clinical trials, including studies in ulcerative colitis (UC) and FSCD. Palisade Bio is now advancing toward Phase 2 clinical studies in UC and Crohn's disease.

Key Details of the Presentation

Palisade Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing next-generation oral PDE4 inhibitor prodrugs for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. The company's precision pharmacology strategy aims to transform proven PDE4 biology into safer, more effective oral therapies.