/EINPresswire.com/ -- BEVERLY, MA--(Marketwired - September 25, 2017) - BioVie Inc. (OTCQB: BIVI), a clinical-stage company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative drug therapies for liver disease, is pleased to announce the appointment of R. Richard Wieland II, MBA as the Company's interim Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Wieland has served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for multiple biopharmaceutical companies, including Lyphomed Inc., its acquirer Fujisawa USA (now Astellas Pharma US, Inc.), Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., which acquired certain clinical programs from Abbott, and Cytochroma Inc., which was developing drugs for chronic kidney disease before its acquisition by OPKO Health in Miami, Florida. He brings a strong track record of raising capital to BioVie, including over 20 private and public offerings totaling more than $800 million, and 11 merger and acquisition transactions valued at $1.2 billion. Mr. Wieland currently sits on the board of an emerging medical device company called Voxello Inc.

"We are grateful that Rich has agreed to join our team," commented BioVie CEO Jonathan Adams. "He has been assisting BioVie as a financial consultant for several weeks, and it's clear from his contributions that he brings substantial value." The Company will leverage Mr. Wieland's extensive financial experience as it seeks to raise capital to fund the BIV201 clinical trial program.

"BioVie's corporate progress and recent start of a Phase 2a clinical trial have been impressive," said Mr. Wieland, "and I look forward to assisting the Company with fundraising and other financial matters. Their management and clinical teams, directors, and medical advisors are all highly experienced in biopharma and the Company is entering a very exciting period of clinical development for its drug candidate BIV201."

About BioVie Inc.
BioVie Inc. is a clinical-stage company pursuing the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative drug therapies for liver disease. The Company is currently focused on developing and commercializing BIV201, a novel approach to the treatment of ascites due to chronic liver cirrhosis. The active agent in BIV201, terlipressin, is approved for use in about 40 countries for the treatment of related complications of advanced liver cirrhosis, but is not available in the US or Japan. For more information about BioVie, please visit our website: www.biovieinc.com.

About BIV201
The Company's lead candidate BIV201 began a mid-stage (Phase 2a) clinical trial in September 2017 at the McGuire Research Institute in Richmond, Virginia. This new drug candidate represents a potential treatment for thousands of patients suffering from ascites and other life-threatening complications of advanced liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis, NASH, and alcoholism. It has Orphan-drug designation and US patent protection for the most common of these complications, ascites, which represents a serious unmet medical need. The FDA has never approved any drug specifically for treating ascites. BioVie has applied for additional Orphan-drug designations for related diseases.

About Liver Cirrhosis and Ascites
More than 600,000 Americans and millions worldwide suffer from liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is the 12th-leading cause of death due to disease in the US, killing an estimated 30,000 people each year. The condition results primarily from hepatitis, alcoholism, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) linked to fatty liver disease and obesity. Ascites is a common complication of advanced liver cirrhosis. With no medications approved by the FDA specifically for treating ascites, an estimated 40% of patients die within two years of diagnosis. Certain drugs approved for other uses may provide initial relief, but patients often fail to respond to them as ascites worsens. In addition to patient suffering, US treatment costs for liver cirrhosis, including ascites and other complications, are estimated at more than $4 billion annually.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause BioVie's actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. BioVie has in some cases identified forward-looking statements by using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "hopes," "estimates," "looks," "expects," "plans," "intends," "goal," "potential," "may," "suggest," and similar expressions. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements are BioVie's need for, and the availability of, substantial capital in the future to fund its operations and research and development; and the risks that BioVie's compounds may experience delays or difficulties in commencing or completing clinical studies, may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing, or may not be granted regulatory approval to be sold and marketed in the United States or elsewhere. A more complete description of these risk factors is included in BioVie's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under its former name. In addition to the risks described above and in BioVie's filings with the SEC, other unknown or unpredictable factors also could affect BioVie's results. No forward-looking statements can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from such statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. BioVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law or regulation. BioVie cannot guarantee the approval of patents or Orphan-drug applications, nor the completion or success of its Phase 2a clinical trial.