Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("CITIUS") ("Company") (NASDAQ: CTXR), a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that Dr. Lawrence Mermel has accepted a position on the Citius Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Mermel is Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Mermel joins Dr. Isaam Raad, the Chair of MD Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Infectious Diseases (also Chairman of the Citius Scientific Advisory Board), and Dr. Mark Rupp, Professor and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. All of these individuals are recognized as opinion leaders in bloodstream infections.  Along with being recognized as outstanding clinicians, each has led research in Catheter Related Bloodstream Infections (CRBSIs), authored important scientific and clinical papers, led nationally recognized organizations, and contributed significantly to the treatment guidelines followed by physicians globally.   The Advisory Board will be counseling the Company on its development programs, particularly the anti-infective portfolio which includes the company's lead technology, Mino-Lok. 

Citius' Mino-Lok^® product is designed to salvage infected Central Venous Catheters (CVCs) that cause CRBSIs.  In many patients with chronic and debilitating diseases and poor vascular access, preserving the CVC is necessary to maintain life sustaining therapy (chemotherapy, dialysis, medications). Additionally, avoiding the need to replace an indwelling CVC with an effective antibiotic lock salvage, could lower the morbidity and mortality (i.e. hematoma and pneumothorax) associated with manipulating CVCs. This is a recognized unmet medical need, as there have been no large scale studies to provide robust evidence on the effectiveness of antibiotic lock therapies (ALTs). IDSA Guidelines recommend the removing of infected CVCs in many serious CRBSIs and replacing with new CVCs if the patients require long term therapy.

"We are honored to have been able to empanel such a prestigious group of experts to help guide us in the development of Mino-Lok and other infectious disease products," said Mr. Myron Holubiak, CEO of Citius.  "All of our SAB members are recognized opinion leaders who developed our understanding of these diseases, how to prevent them, and how to treat them. These world class Infectious Disease leaders will advise us in driving the company's current Phase 3 study forward and offer valuable perspective as we advance our anti-infective development programs."

The Company's Mino-Lok® product contains a proprietary combination of minocycline, edetate (disodium EDTA), and ethyl alcohol, all of which act synergistically to break down bacterial biofilms, eradicate the bacteria, provide anti-clotting properties to maintain patency in CVCs, and salvage the indwelling catheter. The Mino-Lok™ product is used in two-hour locking cycles allowing the CVC to be used for its intended purposes for the remaining 22 hours each day.

www.citiuspharma.com