MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Versartis, Inc. (Nasdaq:VSAR), an endocrine-focused biopharmaceutical company that is developing VRS-317, a novel, long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency (GHD), today announced that Keith L. Lui has joined the company as Vice President, Marketing. Mr. Lui will report to Versartis Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey L. Cleland, PhD, to lead the development and execution of the brand marketing process including global marketing launch plan activities for the Company's lead product candidate, VRS-317.
"Keith is a highly experienced pharmaceutical executive with a great track record of marketing accomplishments," said Dr. Cleland. "He has led the successful launch of several significant pharmaceutical products and his experience will be instrumental to planning and implementation for the potential commercialization of VRS-317, as we approach late-stage clinical development."
Most recently, Mr. Lui was Vice President, Marketing, at Pharmacyclics, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCYC), where he led the marketing strategy and execution for the launch of the company's first new chemical entity (NCE), Imbruvica® (ibrutinib), under the FDA's "breakthrough" and accelerated approval program. In this executive position, he helped to build the commercial organization and oversee subsequent US and global launches of Imbruvica in multiple oncology indications. Previously, Mr. Lui spent over six years in marketing at Genentech, Inc., working on product teams for Avastin® and Rituxan® and lastly, for the NCE launch of ZELBORAF® and its companion diagnostic. Earlier in his career, he worked in oncology pharmaceutical sales at Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Biotech and prior to that in healthcare investment banking and genomics research. Mr. Lui holds a BA in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.
About Versartis, Inc.
Versartis, Inc. is an endocrine-focused biopharmaceutical company initially developing VRS-317, a novel, long-acting form of recombinant human growth hormone, for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency (GHD). VRS-317 is intended to reduce the burden of daily injection therapy by requiring significantly fewer injections, potentially improving compliance and therefore treatment outcomes. The Company has recently completed a Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating weekly, semi-monthly and monthly dosing regimens of VRS-317 in children with GHD. Further information on Versartis can be found at www.versartis.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may, in some cases, use terms such as "expects," "plans," "potential," "will" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: the ability of VRS-317 to potentially offer long-acting doses, further development and potential commercialization of VRS-317. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to: our success being heavily dependent on VRS-317; VRS-317 being a new chemical entity; serious adverse side effects, if they are associated with VRS-317; VRS-317 may not have favorable results in later clinical trials or receive regulatory approval; other long-acting rhGH products and product candidates have failed to generate commercial success or obtain regulatory approval; delays in enrollment of patients in our clinical trials could increase our costs and cause delay; VRS-317 may cause serious adverse side effects or have properties that delay or prevent regulatory approval or limit its commercial profile; manufacturing; if approved, risks associated with market acceptance, including pricing and reimbursement; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights; the importance of our license of intellectual property from Amunix Operating, Inc. and our need for additional funds to support our operations. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading "Risk Factors" section contained in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the 6 months ended June 30, 2014, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
CONTACT: Corporate & Investors:
Joshua Brumm
Chief Financial Officer
(650) 963-8582
IR@versartis.com
Investors:
Nick Laudico
The Ruth Group
(646) 536-7030
nlaudico@theruthgroup.com
Media:
Debra Bannister
Corporate Communications
(530) 676-7373
media@versartis.com
