THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA), a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized immunotherapies for autoimmune disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO), today announced that it has been selected one of the “Top Projects to Watch” by a panel of independent experts for the third consecutive year. As part of this recognition, Neil K. Warma, Opexa’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will present a company overview at the Therapeutic Area Partnerships meeting taking place on November 18-20, 2015 at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. Mr. Warma will present on Thursday, November 19 at 11:30 a.m. E.S.T.

“Selected companies have been screened using a strict set of judging criteria for the Top Projects to Watch award and represent what our committees consider among the most attractive opportunities the industry has to offer,” said Marc Wortman, Editorial Director, Therapeutic Area Partnerships. “Winners have met rigorous criteria, including: unmet medical need, market potential, diversity of indications, strong science, multi-level partnering opportunities (biotech and pharma), potential for new opportunities beyond initial indications and corporate stability. As the industry leader in strategic analysis and transaction tracking, our main goal is to give these companies exposure to potential investors, partners, and acquirers.”

“We are pleased to be selected for the third year as one of the Top Projects to Watch,” stated Mr. Warma. “We believe this recognition speaks to the potential of our novel personalized T-cell immunotherapy platform to address autoimmune diseases with significant unmet medical needs.”

Respected independent experts review projects available for partnering and select eight companies in six areas. A number of presenting companies at prior Therapeutic Area Partnerships meetings have gone on to headline-making partnerships. Attendees have the opportunity to hear from and meet some of the industry's most talented biotechnology entrepreneurs and pharmaceutical leaders. Casual gatherings and one-on-one partnering meetings bring together business development decision makers from large pharmaceutical firms and executive leadership from innovative biotechnology firms to make this one of the industry's most productive events.

About Opexa

Opexa is a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized immunotherapies with the potential to treat major illnesses, including multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as other autoimmune diseases such as neuromyelitis optica (NMO). These therapies are based on Opexa’s proprietary T-cell technology. The Company’s leading therapy candidate, Tcelna®, is a personalized T-cell immunotherapy that is in a Phase IIb clinical development program (the Abili-T trial) for the treatment of secondary progressive MS. Tcelna consists of myelin-reactive T-cells, which are expanded ex vivo from the patient’s peripheral blood and reintroduced into the same patient in an attenuated form via subcutaneous injections. This process triggers a potent immune response against specific subsets of autoreactive T-cells known to attack myelin for each individual patient.

For more information, visit the Opexa Therapeutics website at www.opexatherapeutics.com or follow company news on Twitter via @OpexaCEO.

Cautionary Statement Relating to Forward-Looking Information for the Purpose of "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements contained in this release, other than statements of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "expects," "believes," "may," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements do not constitute guarantees of future performance, are based upon our current expectations, and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include without limitation our ability to raise additional capital to continue our development programs, our ability to successfully develop potential products such as Tcelna, our ability to obtain, maintain and protect intellectual property rights (including for Tcelna), as well as other risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drug candidates that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics. These and other risks are described in detail in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. All forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date on which they were first made by us, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after such date.

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Source: Opexa Therapeutics, Inc.