Ritter Pharmaceuticals to Ring Today's Nasdaq Stock Market Closing Bell to Kick-off Lactose Intolerance Awareness Month

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 30, 2017) - Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTTR) ("Ritter Pharmaceuticals" or the "Company"), a developer of novel therapeutic products that modulate the human gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases, will be ringing the closing bell for the Nasdaq stock market in New York today, Monday, January 30, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. EST to kick-off Lactose Intolerance Awareness Month.

Ira E. Ritter, Co-founder and Chairman of Ritter Pharmaceuticals' Board of Directors, commented, "Its important to make people aware that lactose intolerance dramatically affects over 40 million people in the U.S. of which 9 million suffer moderate to severe symptoms. Lactose Intolerance is a condition with few treatment options where over 50% of sufferers report their intolerance moderately or severely impacts their daily activities.¹ There is a huge unmet medical need here and we have dedicated our last 13 years to pursuing the development of a better treatment option." 

Ritter Pharmaceuticals' lead product candidate, RP-G28, has the potential to become the first FDA-approved treatment for lactose intolerance. RP-G28 was recently studied in a 377-subject Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, with data readout expected this quarter.

"The Company has had a busy start to 2017," said Michael Step, Chief Executive Officer of Ritter Pharmaceuticals "We announced the publication of our Phase 2a study's microbiome data in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, established a collaboration with the University of Nebraska to study the role of the microbiome and RP-G28 in metabolic syndrome, and appointed William Merino, Ph.D., a former Senior Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs at Warner Lambert Pharmaceuticals, to our Board of Directors."

Chairman, Co-Founder and Chief Strategic Officer Ira E. Ritter ringing the Nasdaq bell can be viewed live today, Monday, January 30, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. EST via a live webcast: https://new.livestream.com/nasdaq/live  

About Ritter Pharmaceuticals

Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. develops novel therapeutic products that modulate the gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases. Its lead product, RP-G28, has the potential to become the first FDA-approved treatment for lactose intolerance, a condition that affects millions worldwide. The company is further exploring functionality and discovering therapeutic potential gut microbiome changes may have on treating/preventing a variety of areas including: gastrointestinal diseases, immune-oncology, metabolic, and liver disease. For additional information, go to www.RitterPharma.com and follow the Company at @RitterPharma.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the release of results from the Company's Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of RP-G28. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, such statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the drug development process generally, including the outcomes of planned clinical trials and the regulatory review process. For a discussion of certain risks and uncertainties affecting Ritter Pharmaceuticals' forward-looking statements, please review the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2015 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2016, June 30, 2016 and September 30, 2016. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. These statements are based on management's current expectations and Ritter Pharmaceuticals does not undertake any responsibility to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as expressly required by law.

¹ Objective Insights, "Market Research Analysis and Forecasts on Lactose Intolerance and RP-G28." June, 2012.