Achillion Announces Appointments of Martha Manning as General Counsel and Amy Jennings as Head of Regulatory Affairs

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 03, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACHN) today announced the addition of two members to the senior management team. Martha Manning, Esq., joins Achillion as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary effective February 1, 2016. In addition, Amy Jennings, Ph.D., recently joined the Company and will serve as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

“The high caliber of individuals, including both Martha and Amy, who have joined Achillion in recent months highlights the excitement for Achillion’s factor D inhibitor program and the potential for our small molecule compounds to address the unmet needs of patients with ultra-rare diseases,” commented Milind Deshpande, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am pleased to welcome Martha, who joins us with more than two decades of industry experience at pharmaceutical companies both large and small, and Amy, who most recently was the head of U.S. regulatory for diabetes at Sanofi. I believe that their addition to the Achillion team further enhances our goal of maturing into a commercial pharmaceutical company.”

Martha E. Manning, Esq.

Martha E. Manning, Esq. joined Achillion in February 2016 as General Counsel. Previously, she was General Counsel of iCeutica Inc., a drug development company from 2013 to 2016. She served as Chief Legal Officer of OraPharma, Inc., a J&J spinout company, from 2011 to 2012 when the Company was acquired by Valeant. She joined OraPharma from Sandoz Inc., the generic pharmaceutical division of Novartis, where she served as Vice President and General Counsel from 2008 to 2011. Prior to Sandoz, she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Adolor Corporation, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company from 2002 to 2008. Martha began her legal career with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. She received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

Amy Jennings, Ph.D.

Amy Jennings joined Achillion in January 2016 and serves as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. She was previously with Sanofi where she was the head of US regulatory for diabetes. Prior to Sanofi, Amy assumed roles of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb within Regulatory over more than 12 years, culminating in her leading U.S. regulatory for CV/Metabolics. During her tenure at BMS, she was involved with both U.S. and Global regulatory for all phases of drug development, across broad therapeutic areas, and contributed to multiple drug approvals, including leading the U.S. regulatory efforts for the recent approvals of Farxiga and Xigduo XR for patients with type 2 diabetes. To obtain the U.S. approval of Farxiga, Amy led the team through the NDA submission, preparation of two advisory committee meetings, and an NDA resubmission.

Amy earned a BS in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Joslin Diabetes Center prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry.

About Achillion Pharmaceuticals

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) is a science-driven, patient-focused company seeking to leverage its strengths across the continuum from discovery to commercialization in its goal of providing better treatments for people with serious diseases. The company employs a highly-disciplined discovery and development approach that has allowed it to pursue best-in-class oral antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C (HCV) and build a platform of potent and specific complement inhibitors. Achillion is rapidly advancing its efforts to become a fully-integrated pharmaceutical company with a goal of bringing life-saving medicines to patients with rare diseases. More information is available at http://www.achillion.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Achillion may use words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “aim,” “believe,” “seek,” “ estimate,” “can,” “focus,” “will,” “look forward,” “goal,” and “may” and similar expressions to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements also include statements about the: potential for the Company’s complement inhibitor compounds to address the unmet needs of patients with ultra-rare diseases; and the Company’s strategic goals. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are risks relating to, among other things Achillion’s ability to: advance the preclinical and clinical development of its drug candidates, including its complement factor D inhibitors, under the timelines it projects in current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials; obtain and maintain patent protection for its drug candidates and the freedom to operate under third party intellectual property; demonstrate in any current and future clinical trials the requisite safety, efficacy and combinability of its drug candidates; obtain and maintain necessary regulatory approvals; establish commercial manufacturing arrangements; identify, enter into and maintain collaboration agreements with third-parties; compete successfully in the markets in which it seeks to develop and commercialize its product candidates and future products; manage expenses; manage litigation; raise the substantial additional capital needed to achieve its business objectives; and successfully execute on its business strategies. These and other risks are described in the reports filed by Achillion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, and its subsequent SEC filings.

In addition, any forward-looking statement in this press release represents Achillion’s views only as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Achillion disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law.