Healthcare Industry News: cyclosporine
News Release - February 20, 2007
Inspire Announces Executive Management Promotions
DURHAM, N.C.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH ) announced today the following executive management promotions.Benjamin R. Yerxa, Ph.D. has been promoted to Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President, Strategic Operations, from Chief, Strategic Operations and Alliances.
Joseph K. Schachle has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief, Commercial Operations, from Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales.
Gerald W. St. Peter has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales and Field Operations, from Vice President, Sales.
Christy L. Shaffer, Ph.D., President and CEO of Inspire, stated, "Ben, Joe and Jerry have all contributed significantly to Inspire's success in securing new and important partnerships and effectively building and leading our commercial efforts. In their new roles, they will be responsible for the success of commercial and technical operations supporting existing products, as well as potential new products such as AzaSite(TM) for bacterial conjunctivitis and bilastine for allergic rhinitis."
Dr. Yerxa joined Inspire in August 1995 as Senior Research Chemist and has held positions of increasing responsibility over the past 12 years, including Director of Preclinical Programs, Vice President, Discovery, Senior Vice President, Discovery and Chief, Scientific Operations and Alliances. Dr. Yerxa received a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine. He received the Southeastern Region American Chemical Society (ACS) Industrial Innovation Award for discoveries related to his work with P2Y2 receptors and was instrumental in developing the concept of ophthalmic uses for Inspire's core P2Y2 receptor technology. Dr. Yerxa is a named inventor on 44 of Inspire's total of more than 65 issued U.S. patents.
Mr. Schachle initially joined Inspire in 2001. He has served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales since January 2004. His experience includes marketing and sales positions of significant responsibility at The Upjohn Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Inspire and MedImmune, Inc. Mr. Schachle holds a B.B.A. in Marketing from James Madison University and an M.B.A. from Old Dominion University.
Mr. St. Peter joined Inspire in July 2003 as Vice President of Sales. He has over 16 years of pharmaceutical sales, managed healthcare, business development and management experience. Prior to joining Inspire, Mr. St. Peter was the National Sales Director for Muro Pharmaceutical, Inc. and served on the Company's Executive Management Committee. He holds a B.S. in Health Education from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and currently serves on the College of Health Professions Advisory Board for the College.
About Inspire
Inspire is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing prescription pharmaceutical products in disease areas with significant commercial potential and unmet medical needs. The research and development programs of Inspire are driven by extensive scientific experience in the therapeutic areas of ophthalmology and respiratory/allergy, and supported by expertise in the field of P2 receptors. Inspire is currently pursuing programs in bacterial conjunctivitis, dry eye, allergic rhinitis, cystic fibrosis and glaucoma. Inspire's U.S. specialty sales force promotes Elestat® (epinastine HCI ophthalmic solution) 0.05% for allergic conjunctivitis and Restasis® (cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion) 0.05% for dry eye, ophthalmology products developed by Allergan, Inc. Elestat and Restasis are trademarks owned by Allergan. AzaSite(TM) is a trademark owned by InSite Vision Inc. For more information, visit www.inspirepharm.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The forward-looking statements in this news release relating to management's expectations and beliefs are based on preliminary information and management assumptions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ in material respects, including those relating to product development, revenue, expense and earnings expectations, the seasonality of Elestat, intellectual property rights, adverse litigation developments, adverse developments in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation, competitive products, results and timing of clinical trials, success of marketing efforts, the need for additional research and testing, delays in manufacturing, funding, and the timing and content of decisions made by regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Further information regarding factors that could affect Inspire's results is included in Inspire's filings with the SEC. Inspire undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Source: Inspire Pharmaceuticals
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