Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACOR)
has appointed Andrew Hindman as Chief Business Development Officer.
“Business development is a key to Acorda’s growth strategy, and I am
delighted that Andrew will lead our efforts to acquire new assets that
add to our promising pipeline. Andrew is a highly talented, experienced
business leader with an outstanding track record of identifying and
completing value-creating strategic transactions,” said Ron Cohen, M.D.,
Acorda’s President and CEO. “I am looking forward to his contributions
to Acorda’s executive leadership team.”
“Acorda is one of the most exciting mid-size biotechnology
companies today, and I’m thrilled to be joining at a time when
business development is a top priority,” said Andrew Hindman. “Our
strong balance sheet and commercial and development expertise make the
Company well-positioned to execute on a variety of strategic
transactions. I’m looking forward to working with Ron and the executive
leadership team as we lead the Company to the next stage of
transformation and growth.”
Mr. Hindman has held several senior executive level positions in the
biopharmaceutical industry, most recently as President, Chief Executive
Officer and member of the Board of Tobira Therapeutics, a privately-held
biotechnology company. At Tobira, he was responsible for developing a
new corporate strategy, building new leadership and operational teams,
and raising operating capital. Prior to Tobira, Mr. Hindman held senior
corporate development and commercial operating positions at Nodality,
Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences. Mr. Hindman holds a B.A. in
biochemistry and economics, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from
Wesleyan University, and an executive MBA from Columbia University and
the University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
The Company also announced that it has appointed Soon Hyouk Lee as Vice
President of Business Development, effective June 2. Mr. Lee has worked
as a public and private healthcare investor at several investment
organizations, most recently as Vice President at Fred Alger Management,
where he analyzed healthcare and therapeutics companies. He has also
supported business development efforts at several biopharma companies,
including Genentech and Questcor Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Lee holds a B.A.
in biological sciences from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard
Business School.
“Soon is an outstanding addition to our business development team. His
financial analytics capabilities, strategic insight and deep knowledge
of the biopharma space will further enhance our ability to identify and
acquire assets that can build significant shareholder value,” said Dr.
Cohen. “Together, Soon and Andrew provide Acorda with extraordinary
leadership of our business development function.”
About Acorda Therapeutics
Founded in 1995, Acorda Therapeutics is a biotechnology
company focused on developing therapies that improve the lives of
people with neurological disorders.
Acorda markets three FDA-approved therapies including: AMPYRA®
(dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg, a treatment to
improve walking in patients with multiple
sclerosis (MS); ZANAFLEX
CAPSULES® (tizanidine hydrochloride) and Zanaflex
tablets, a short-acting drug for the management of spasticity; and QUTENZA®
(capsaicin) 8% Patch, for the management of neuropathic pain
associated with postherpetic neuralgia. AMPYRA is marketed outside the
United States as FAMPYRA® (prolonged-release fampridine
tablets) by Biogen Idec under a licensing agreement from Acorda.
Acorda has one of the leading pipelines in the industry of novel
neurological therapies. The Company is currently developing six
clinical-stage therapies and one preclinical stage therapy that address
a range of disorders including post-stroke deficits, epilepsy, stroke,
peripheral nerve damage, spinal cord injury, neuropathic pain, and heart
failure. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at: www.acorda.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding
management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects should be
considered forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially,
including our ability to successfully market and sell Ampyra in the
U.S.; third party payers (including governmental agencies) may not
reimburse for the use of Ampyra or our other products at acceptable
rates or at all and may impose restrictive prior authorization
requirements that limit or block prescriptions; the risk of unfavorable
results from future studies of Ampyra or from our other research and
development programs, including Plumiaz (our trade name for Diazepam
Nasal Spray), or any other acquired or in-licensed programs; we may not
be able to complete development of, obtain regulatory approval for, or
successfully market Plumiaz or other products under development; the
occurrence of adverse safety events with our products; delays in
obtaining or failure to obtain regulatory approval of or to successfully
market Fampyra outside of the U.S. and our dependence on our
collaboration partner Biogen Idec in connection therewith; competition,
including the impact of generic competition on Zanaflex Capsules
revenues; failure to protect our intellectual property, to defend
against the intellectual property claims of others or to obtain third
party intellectual property licenses needed for the commercialization of
our products; failure to comply with regulatory requirements could
result in adverse action by regulatory agencies; and the ability to
obtain additional financing to support our operations. These and other
risks are described in greater detail in Acorda Therapeutics' filings
with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Acorda may not actually
achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements,
and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements.
Forward-looking statements made in this release are made only as of the
date hereof, and Acorda disclaims any intent or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after
the date of this release.
Copyright Business Wire 2014