CombinatoRx Announces Senior Management Team Changes
- Mark Corrigan, MD Appointed CEO -
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan 06, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) today announced changes to its
senior management team to lead CombinatoRx following its recently
completed merger with Neuromed. Effective immediately, Mark Corrigan,
MD, former EVP of Research & Development at Sepracor and a member of the
CombinatoRx board of directors, will assume the role of President and
Chief Executive Officer of CombinatoRx and Christopher Gallen, MD,
Ph.D., former CEO of Neuromed, will serve as Executive Vice President of
Research and Development. Having brought CombinatoRx to this point,
Robert Forrester has decided to leave his position at the company to
pursue other opportunities.
"The management team decisions we are making now are critical to the
future success of CombinatoRx," commented Frank Haydu, Chairman of the
Board of CombinatoRx. "Dr. Corrigan, with his significant drug
development experience both as head of R&D at Sepracor and Group Vice
President of Global Clinical Research and Experimental Medicine at
Pharmacia Upjohn, is ideally suited to build CombinatoRx into a thriving
biopharmaceutical business with a promising portfolio of pain and
inflammation product candidates. Dr. Gallen, with his knowledge of
Exalgo, will focus much of his efforts initially on working with
Covidien and regulatory authorities to provide a potential extended pain
relief option for patients in need. Robert Forrester has made many
valuable contributions to CombinatoRx over the past several years, most
recently while serving as interim President and CEO of CombinatoRx
during the critical merger consummation process. We shall miss his
contributions and we thank him for his service and wish him well in his
new endeavors."
This merger of CombinatoRx and Neuromed brings together the product
assets and financial resources of both organizations, including
potential Exalgo(TM) milestones and royalty revenue and Neuromed's proven
drug development expertise, with the CombinatoRx portfolio of product
candidates and its unique drug discovery capabilities. The rights to
Exalgo(TM), designed to be a once-daily, oral hydromorphone treatment
seeking FDA approval for chronic to severe pain, were recently acquired
by Mallinckrodt Inc., a subsidiary of Covidien plc, for $15 million in
upfront payments, additional development funding of up to $16 million to
cover internal and external costs associated with Exalgo, an approval
milestone of $30 million, which could potentially increase up to $40
million, and tiered royalties on Exalgo(TM) net sales after approval.
Exalgo(TM) has a February 22, 2010 PDUFA review date with the FDA.
About CombinatoRx
CombinatoRx, Incorporated (CRXX) develops novel drug candidates with a
focus on the treatment of pain and inflammation. The company applies its
combination drug discovery capabilities and its selective ion-channel
modulation platform to generate innovative therapeutics. To learn more
about CombinatoRx, please visit www.combinatorx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
concerning CombinatoRx, the product candidate Exalgo(TM), and its potential
for FDA approval and its ability to generate future revenues for the
combined company, CombinatoRx's drug discovery technology and the
business plans of the combined company. These forward-looking statements
about future expectations, plans and prospects of CombinatoRx involve
significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks
related to the ability of Neuromed or Mallinckrodt to obtain regulatory
approval for the sale and marketing of its Exalgo(TM) product candidate,
the ability of Mallinckrodt, to perform their obligations under their
collaboration agreements, the unproven nature of the CombinatoRx drug
discovery technologies, CombinatoRx's ability to obtain additional
financing or funding for its research and development and those other
risks that can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of the CombinatoRx
Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the other reports that CombinatoRx periodically files
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ
materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and
CombinatoRx does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking
statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances
that occur after the date of this release.
(c) 2010 CombinatoRx, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
