Seaport Therapeutics Appoints Robert J. Hombach to its Board of Directors as Audit Committee Chair

By: Seaport Therapeutics via Business Wire

March 11, 2025 at 07:00 AM EDT

Former Baxter and Baxalta Chief Financial Officer brings more than 30 years of biotech financial and operational experience

Seaport Therapeutics (“Seaport” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is advancing novel neuropsychiatric medicines with a proven strategy and team, today announced that Robert “Bob” J. Hombach has been appointed to its Board of Directors and will serve as the Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Hombach is a seasoned financial and operational executive with three decades of high-level leadership in the healthcare sector. His experience includes serving on the Audit, Finance and Compensation Committees for several public and private Boards of Directors, such as FORTUNE 500 companies like BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN), where he also chairs the Audit Committee, and Henry Schein (NASDAQ: HSIC), a member of the S&P 500® index.

“We are excited to add Bob to our board. His financial and operational expertise perfectly complements the outstanding group of industry leaders on our board,” said Daphne Zohar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Seaport Therapeutics. “His deep understanding of the financial and operational intricacies of growing biotech companies will be an asset to Seaport as we advance our pipeline through important milestones, with the goal of delivering potentially life-changing neuropsychiatric medicines to patients and their families.”

Mr. Hombach served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT), a $6 billion global biopharmaceutical company, until it was acquired by Shire plc. in 2016. He was instrumental in Baxalta’s successful spin off from its parent company, Baxter (NYSE: BAX), a nearly $18 billion company, where he previously served as Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. While at Baxter, he led the company’s strategic restructuring process and oversaw its venture capital investments through the Baxter Ventures Fund. In addition to his board positions at BioMarin and Henry Schein, Mr. Hombach is the Chair of the Audit Committee at Embecta (NASDAQ: EMBC), a global diabetes care company spun out of Becton Dickinson, and has held previous board positions at several other companies including Naurex, Inc., which was acquired by Allergan in 2015.

"Seaport is a new breed of company that is in a unique position to change the lives of patients with depression and anxiety disorders, and I am honored to contribute to the Company’s growth at such a pivotal time,” said Mr. Hombach. “Seaport’s scientific approach to advancing neuropsychiatric medicines is exciting and differentiated, and I look forward to supporting the Company’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of financial oversight and governance as it continues its mission to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families impacted by these conditions.”

Mr. Hombach has earned numerous accolades, including recognition by IR Magazine as a Top 100 US CFO ranked seventh in both 2013 and 2014. He was also honored as a Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Mr. Hombach holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a B.S. in Finance cum laude from the University of Colorado.

About Seaport Therapeutics

Seaport Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing the development of novel neuropsychiatric medicines in areas of high unmet patient needs. The Company has a proven strategy of advancing clinically validated mechanisms previously held back by limitations that are overcome with its proprietary Glyph™ technology platform. All the therapeutic candidates in its pipeline of first and best-in-class medicines are based on the Glyph platform, which is uniquely designed to enable oral bioavailability, bypass first-pass metabolism and reduce liver enzyme elevations or hepatotoxicity and other side effects. Seaport is led by an experienced team that invented and advanced important neuropsychiatric medicines and are guided by an extensive network of renowned scientists, clinicians and key opinion leaders. For more information, please visit www.seaporttx.com.