30 Aug 2017 07:00
30 August 2017
AIM: AMYT
ESM: AYP
Amryt Pharma plc
("Amryt" or the "Company")
Amryt Appoints Kieran Rooney, Ph.D., as Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Licensing
Amryt Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company focused on best-in-class treatments for rare and orphan diseases, today announces the appointment of Kieran Rooney, Ph.D., as Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Licensing.
"I am pleased to welcome Kieran to our senior management team. In this new leadership role, Kieran will be responsible for assessing new acquisition and in-licencing opportunities as we continue to execute our strategy to acquire, develop and commercialise products to enhance the lives of patients with rare and orphan diseases" said Joe Wiley, CEO of Amryt. "We are excited to continue our buildout of critical leadership roles across the organization as we progress our broadening commercial stage pipeline to the benefit of patients with rare and orphan diseases."
Dr. Rooney has over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with significant expertise in business development and commercial strategy. Before joining Amryt, he founded Halo BioConsulting, a global healthcare advisory services firm focusing on business alliances and management consulting. Prior to that, Dr. Rooney worked as a consultant for the UK Government and held business development roles at companies including Smith & Nephew, F2G Limited, Pharsight Corporation, and MDS Pharma Services.
Dr. Rooney holds a Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology from the University of Wales, Cardiff and is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
Enquiries:
Amryt Pharma plc | C/o KTZ Communications |
Joe Wiley, CEO Rory Nealon, CFO/COO | |
KTZ Communications | +44 (0) 20 3178 6378 |
Katie Tzouliadis, Irene Bermont-Penn, Emma Pearson |
About Amryt Pharma plc
(www.amrytpharma.com)
Amryt Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and delivering innovative new treatments to help improve the lives of patients with rare or orphan diseases. The Company is building a diversified portfolio of commercially attractive, best-in-class, proprietary new drugs to help address some of these rare and debilitating illnesses for which there are currently no available treatments.
The Company holds an exclusive licence to sell Lojuxta (lomitapide) for adults, across the EU and other territories including the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Israel. Lojuxta is used to treat a rare life-threatening disease called Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia, which impairs the body's ability to remove LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) from the blood. This typically results in extremely high blood LDL cholesterol levels leading to aggressive and premature narrowing and blocking of arterial blood vessels. If left untreated, heart attack or sudden death may occur in childhood or early adulthood.
Amryt's lead drug candidate, AP101 (Episalvan), is a potential treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa ("EB"), a rare and distressing genetic skin disorder affecting young children for which there is currently no treatment. It is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials. The global market opportunity for EB is estimated to be in excess of EUR 1.3 billion.
Amryt's earlier stage product AP102 is focused on developing novel, next generation somatostatin analogue ("SSA") peptide medicines for patients with rare neuroendocrine diseases, where there is a high unmet medical need, including acromegaly and Cushing's disease.
The Company joined AIM and Dublin's ESM in April 2016 following the reverse takeover of Fastnet Equity PLC.