Kamada Ltd. (NASDAQ:KMDA) (TASE:KMDA), a plasma-derived protein
therapeutics company focused on orphan indications, announces executive
management changes intended to strengthen the Company’s leadership while
benefiting from its accomplished executives and advancing its protein
therapeutics platform. Under the changes, David Tsur, co-founder and
Chief Executive Officer, will become Deputy Executive Chairman of the
Board, a new position whereby he will maintain his strategic advisory
role yet relinquish day-to-day management responsibilities. Leon Recanti
will remain the Chairman of the Board. Amir London, the Company’s Senior
Vice President of Business Development, will become Chief Executive
Officer and Gil Efron, currently Chief Financial Officer, will take on
the added role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
The changes are expected to go into effect in July 2015.
“It is with great pride that I reflect upon the significant progress
Kamada has made in recent years. After more than 30 years in the
industry and having founded two successful companies, I am happy to move
to an active advisory role in order to support the Company’s leadership
and innovation. We have a talented, experienced and passionate
management team, and I know I leave the daily management of Kamada in
strong hands as I transition to a strategic advisory role on the Board,”
said David Tsur. “When Ralf Hann and I founded Kamada 25 years ago, we
had a vision of developing and commercializing innovative treatments
centered on plasma proteins. Today, we have a sustainable company based
on our protein therapeutics platform with multiple products marketed in
over 15 countries, five orphan drugs in late stage clinical development
and important strategic partnerships with industry leaders, which can
drive significant growth. I am confident that Amir and Gil will continue
to build upon this foundation with a seamless transition of the
execution of our strategic growth plan.”
"I am honored to take over the leadership of Kamada at this juncture as
we are in an excellent position to continue leveraging the potential of
our plasma-derived protein therapeutics platform. I look forward to
advancing David’s and Ralf’s vision for Kamada, and to be working with
this dynamic leadership team to expand our clinical and commercial
opportunities for the benefit of the patients and healthcare providers
we serve and to build shareholder value," commented Mr. London.
Mr. London has more than 20 years of senior management and international
business development experience. Prior to joining Kamada in December
2013, he was Chief Operating Officer of Fidelis Diagnostics, a
U.S.-based provider of innovative in-office medical diagnostic services.
Prior to Fidelis Diagnostics, Mr. London was CEO of Promedico, a leading
Israeli-based healthcare distribution company with annual revenues of
$350 million. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of Cure Medical,
a provider of contract manufacturing services for clinical studies, as
well as home-care solutions. For 10 years Mr. London was a Partner with
Tefen, an international, publicly-traded operations management
consulting firm, where he was responsible for the firm's global
biopharmaceutical practice.
Mr. London holds a B.Sc. in Industrial and Management Engineering from
the Technion in Haifa, Israel.
About Kamada
Kamada Ltd. is focused on plasma-derived protein therapeutics for orphan
indications, and has a commercial product portfolio and a robust
late-stage product pipeline. The Company uses its proprietary platform
technology and know-how for the extraction and purification of proteins
from human plasma to produce Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) in a
highly-purified, liquid form, as well as other plasma-derived proteins.
AAT is a protein derived from human plasma with known and
newly-discovered therapeutic roles given its immunomodulatory,
anti-inflammatory, tissue-protective and antimicrobial properties. The
Company’s flagship product is Glassia®, the first and only liquid,
ready-to-use, intravenous plasma-derived AAT product approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kamada markets Glassia in the U.S.
through a strategic partnership with Baxter International. In addition
to Glassia, Kamada has a product line of nine other pharmaceutical
products that are marketed through distributors in more than 20
countries, including Israel, Russia, Brazil, India and other countries
in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. Kamada has five late-stage
plasma-derived protein products in development, including an inhaled
formulation of AAT for the treatment of AAT deficiency that completed a
pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trials in Europe and has initiated Phase 2
clinical trials in the U.S. Kamada also leverages its expertise and
presence in the plasma-derived protein therapeutics market by
distributing 10 complementary products in Israel that are manufactured
by third parties. For more information, visit www.kamada.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E
of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe
harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not
historical facts, such as statements regarding assumptions and results
related to financial results forecast, commercial results, clinical
trials, Intellectual Property, the EMA and U.S. FDA filings and
authorizations and timing of clinical trials. Forward-looking statements
are based on Kamada’s current knowledge and its present beliefs and
expectations regarding possible future events and are subject to risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and the timing of events
could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements as a result of several factors including, but not limited to,
unexpected results of clinical trials, delays or denial in the U.S. FDA
or the EMA approval process, additional competition in the AATD market
or further regulatory delays. The forward-looking statements made herein
speak only as of the date of this announcement and Kamada undertakes no
obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances, except as otherwise required by law.
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