GlobeNewswire Inc | Mar 22, 2021 04:30PM EDT

March 22, 2021

EDISON, N.J., March 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA, Hepion), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven therapeutic drug development for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver disease, today announced its participation in the Benzinga Biotech Small Cap Conference on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Details are as follows:

-- Dr. Robert Foster, Hepions Chief Executive Officer, will present a corporate overview at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time -- Dr. Patrick Mayo, the Companys Senior Vice-President, Clinical Pharmacology and Analytics, will participate in the NASH: The Race to Find a Treatment panel at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Individuals interested in attending the event can register online here.

About Hepion Pharmaceuticals

The Company's lead drug candidate, CRV431, is a potent inhibitor of cyclophilins, which are involved in many disease processes. CRV431 is currently in clinical-phase development for the treatment of NASH, with the potential to play an important role in the overall treatment of liver disease - from triggering events through to end-stage disease. CRV431 has been shown to reduce liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden in experimental models of NASH; and has demonstrated antiviral activities towards HBV, HCV, and HDV through several mechanisms, in preclinical studies.

Hepion has created a proprietary AI platform, called AI-POWR, which stands for Artificial Intelligence - Precision Medicine; Omics (including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and lipidomics); World database access; and Response and clinical outcomes. Hepion intends to use AI-POWR to help identify which NASH patients will best respond to CRV431, potentially shortening development timelines and increasing the delta between placebo and treatment groups. In addition to using AI-POWR to drive its ongoing Phase 2a NASH program, Hepion will use the platform to identify additional potential indications for CRV431 to expand the company's footprint in the cyclophilin inhibition therapeutic space.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen KilmerHepion Pharmaceuticals Investor RelationsDirect: (646) 274-3580skilmer@hepionpharma.com