News Release

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.^® (Nasdaq:PTLA) today announced the appointment of Glenn Brame as senior vice president of technical operations, effective immediately. Mr. Brame will report to Mardi Dier, interim co-president and chief financial officer, and will be responsible for leading the Company’s technical operations including process development, manufacturing, supply chain, quality assurance, and end-to-end process and platform optimization for Portola’s entire portfolio. He will also serve as a member of Portola’s Executive Committee, contributing directly to global expansion efforts and related CMC activities.

“Glenn’s impressive range of global operational expertise and leadership success will be critical to this new phase in the Company’s trajectory, and we are pleased to welcome him to the team,” said Ms. Dier. “His proven track record leading manufacturing operations from the clinical phase to commercial-scale supply will be particularly valuable as we continue to scale up the manufacturing processes for andexanet alfa and betrixaban.”

Prior to joining Portola, Mr. Brame was vice president of supplier and contract manufacturing excellence for Genentech, where he was responsible for the transformation of quality, manufacturing, technical services and supply chain operations for both biologics and small molecule products. During his tenure, Mr. Brame also served as vice president of global product quality and helped lead the successful start-up of two new biologic manufacturing sites in Oregon and Singapore, as well as manufacturing and quality assurance for the product approvals of Kadcyla^® and Erivedge^®. Previously, Mr. Brame was senior vice president of technical development and operations, leading a team of 1,200 professionals for Chiron Corporation and, upon its acquisition, Novartis.

“I am thrilled to be joining Portola at such an exciting period of commercial evolution and growth,” said Mr. Brame. “This is a unique opportunity to support both a strong commercial portfolio and a promising pipeline, and I look forward to helping this talented and scientifically innovative team achieve its goal of delivering transformative new medicines to patients around the world.”

About Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Portola Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics that could significantly advance the fields of thrombosis and other hematologic diseases. The Company’s two FDA-approved medicines are Bevyxxa^® (betrixaban), the first and only oral, once-daily Factor Xa inhibitor, and Andexxa^® [coagulation factor Xa (recombinant), inactivated-zhzo], the first and only antidote for the Factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban and apixaban. The company also is advancing cerdulatinib, a Syk/JAK inhibitor for the treatment of hematologic cancers.

Kadcyla and Erivedge are registered trademarks of Genentech.