ATHLONE, Ireland, Aug. 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innocoll AG (NASDAQ:INNL) announced that Rich Fante has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Business Development effective August 20, 2015. The addition of this role to the senior management team is an additional step in the transition of the company to a commercial-stage, fully-integrated specialty pharmaceutical company.
"Our two lead product candidates, Cogenzia and XaraColl, are rapidly progressing in advanced clinical development so we need the additional skills and experience to finalize and execute on our commercial strategies for both products in the near-term," said Tony Zook, Chief Executive Officer of Innocoll. "The addition of Rich Fante to our executive team adds the critical skills and commercial experience we need to ensure commercial success. Cogenzia, currently in Phase 3 trials, recently received Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation from the FDA, which may lead to a priority review and accelerated time to market. We also anticipate initiating Phase 3 trials for XaraColl this quarter. Both sets of pivotal trials are expected to read out data in 2016. Rich's joining the team is timely."
Mr. Fante has deep experience in the management and execution of commercial product strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he was founder and president of RF Consulting, a firm that assists emerging biopharmaceutical companies in their commercialization efforts. Prior to founding RF Consulting, Mr. Fante spent over nineteen years at AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals in the United States, where he served a number of rolls, most recently as President of its U.S. business, CEO North America and Regional Vice President of the Americas. During his tenure at AstraZeneca, the company became the second largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S. He helped to build some of the most successful brands in pharmaceutical industry history including Nexium®, Crestor®, Symbicort®, Arimidex®, Seroquel® and Prilosec®. Before joining AstraZeneca in January 1995, Mr. Fante began his career in pharmaceutical sales and marketing as a sales representative followed by brand management at Lederle Laboratories. Mr. Fante has served as Board Chairman of the National Pharmaceutical Council and was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science Roundtable on Value and Science. Mr. Fante is currently a non-executive director of the privately held biotech company Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Fante received his B.A. in Biology from Princeton University and his M.B.A. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"Innocoll's late stage product pipeline represents an ideal opportunity to begin to engage with the market," said Mr. Fante. "The promise of the company's products and the experience of the leadership team are a clear combination of factors for commercial success, and I'm pleased to be in the position to make a contribution to the company's transition."
About Innocoll AG
Innocoll is a global, commercial-stage, specialty pharmaceutical company. The company develops and manufactures a range of pharmaceutical products and medical devices using its proprietary collagen-based technologies. The company's late stage product pipeline is focused on addressing a number of large unmet medical needs, including: XaraColl® for the treatment of post-operative pain; Cogenzia® for the adjuvant treatment of diabetic foot infections; and CollaGUARD®, a barrier for the prevention of post-surgical adhesions. The company's approved products include: CollaGUARD(Ex-US), Collatamp® G, Septocoll®, RegenePro®, Collieva®, CollaCare®, Collexa®, and Zorpreva™, which are sold through strategic partnerships with various partners including Takeda, Biomet, and EUSA Pharma. All of the company's products and product candidates are made using Type 1 collagen and are manufactured in-house at its facility in Saal, Germany. CollaRx®, Collatamp®, CollaGUARD®, Collieva®, CollaCare®, Collexa®, Cogenzia® LidoColl®, LiquiColl®, Septocoll®, and XaraColl® are registered trademarks, and CollaPress™, DermaSil™, Durieva™, and Zorpreva™ are trademarks of the company.
Forward-looking Statements
"Any statements in this press release about our future expectations, plans and prospects, and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend", "goal," "may", "might," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including statements about the potential timing for the commencement of trials and the availability of clinical data. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those related to the timing and costs involved in developing and commercializing our products and product candidates, the timing for results, the initiation, conduct and timing of clinical trials, delays in potential approvals by FDA of the commencement of trials, availability of data from clinical trials, positive results from such trials and timing and expectations for regulatory approvals, our scientific approach and general development progress, the composition of our supervisory board, the availability or commercial potential of our product candidates, the sufficiency of cash resources and need for additional financing or other actions and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release."