Michael Myers Appointed as Head of Portfolio Operations to Continue Guiding Late-Stage Clinical Programs
ATHLONE, Ireland - Innocoll AG (Nasdaq:INNL) today announced that Tony Zook, formerly executive vice president, Global Commercial Operations, at AstraZeneca, has been appointed chief executive officer effectively immediately. Michael Myers, will continue with the company as head of Portfolio Operations. The executive changes were made to better position the company as its pipeline advances to late-stage clinical development and Innocoll prepares to become a fully-integrated specialty pharmaceutical company.
"Having the right people in executive positions has been an important topic during board meetings, especially due to the rapid progress at the company," said Jonathan Symonds, chairman of the Board of Directors. "Michael and his team are to be commended for successfully advancing our pipeline. As we looked forward, the Board and the current management team planned to appoint an experienced senior pharmaceutical executive as CEO to manage the company's evolution to a commercial-stage company. I worked with Tony during his time at AstraZeneca and he is a highly experienced and accomplished pharmaceutical executive with proven ability to manage both commercial and development organizations and successfully develop and launch innovative new medicines. As we were rapidly approaching the point where we will have multiple late stage opportunities in our pipeline, we believed we needed to move quickly with this exciting appointment."
Michael Myers, Head of Portfolio Operations, and former chief executive officer said, "The opportunity to have Tony join Innocoll adds significant depth and experience to our executive team as we advance toward our goal of becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company. I look forward to working with Tony, on behalf of the entire company and its shareholders, to reach our business objectives."
Mr. Zook has extensive pharmaceutical executive management, commercialization and marketing experience. He held several executive positions at AstraZeneca including executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations from 2010 to 2013, president and chief executive officer of the North American division from 2007 to 2010 and president of Medimmune from 2008 to 2010. Prior to joining Innocoll, Mr. Zook was chief executive officer and member of the Board of Directors of Vivus, Inc. in 2013. He has served or continues to serve on several boards including the boards of AltheRx, Inhibikase, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, the National Pharmaceutical Council, PhRMA, the Pennsylvania Division of the American Cancer Society and his alma mater, Frostburg State University. Mr. Zook earned a B.S. degree fromFrostburg State University and an A.A. degree in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
"I am excited to be joining the Innocoll team at this time in the company's development," said Mr. Zook. "Our late-clinical stage pipeline, which includes XaraColl, Cogenzia and CollaGUARD, is particularly promising as each candidate addresses patient needs in large global markets that are underserved today. I look forward to working with the Innocoll team to move our clinical candidates forward with the goal of bringing these important products to patients and their physicians in the near future."
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 Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
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.