DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 16, 2013--
Alkermes
plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) today announced the election of Nancy J. Wysenski
to the company’s Board of Directors. Most recently serving as Chief
Commercial Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Ms. Wysenski
has more than 35 years of healthcare experience, nearly 30 years of
which have been in leadership and commercial roles in the
biopharmaceutical industry.
“We are very pleased to welcome Nancy to our Board. Nancy is an industry
veteran with decades of experience in leading several of the most
successful commercial operations in the business,” said Richard Pops,
Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes. “Nancy’s exceptional grasp of the
opportunities and challenges entailed in product launches, commercial
development and operational growth will add significant strategic
perspective as candidates from our pipeline portfolio, namely
aripiprazole lauroxil and ALKS 5461, progress to the commercial stage.”
During her tenure at Vertex, Ms. Wysenski was responsible for expanding
and directing the company’s sales, marketing, market research and sales
operations activities for the company’s first two commercial products,
INCIVEK® and KALYDECO®. Under her leadership,
these two products generated more than $1.5 billion in combined sales
within the first 12 months, and INCIVEK achieved net sales of $1 billion
in less than a year, faster than any previous pharmaceutical product.
Prior to joining Vertex in 2009, Ms. Wysenski was Chief Operating
Officer of Endo Pharmaceuticals, responsible for sales, marketing,
commercial operations, outsourced production, supply chain management,
human resources and business development activities, as well as the
successful integration of Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. following Endo’s
acquisition of the company. Ms. Wysenski was President and Chief
Executive Officer of EMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the North American
subsidiary of Merck KGaA, prior to joining Endo, and also served as
EMD’s Vice President of Commercial until 2001. Between 1984 and 1998,
Ms. Wysenski held several sales-focused roles with Merck Human Health
and Astra Merck, including Vice President of Field Sales for Astra Merck.
“I am very excited to be joining Alkermes’ Board of Directors at a time
when the company is evolving into a robust biopharmaceutical development
company that is generating novel pipeline candidates with significant
commercial opportunities,” said Ms. Wysenski. “Alkermes is on the cusp
of very promising developments with late-stage product candidates,
aripiprazole lauroxil and ALKS 5461, which represent significant
opportunities for the company to provide patients, providers and payors
with meaningful new treatment options to address serious diseases. It is
an invigorating time to join the Board with the rapid progress at the
company, and I look forward to sharing my insights and experiences with
the management team.”
Ms. Wysenski began her career in healthcare as a nurse in the Acute
Psychiatry / Medical Teaching / Research Units at the Veteran’s
Administration Medical Center in Cleveland. Ms. Wysenski serves on the
Board of Directors of Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and North Carolina
Central University’s Board of Trustees. She is a founder of the Research
Triangle Park Chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and
served on the Nominating Committee and National Advisory Board of the
Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.
About Alkermes plc
Alkermes plc is a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company
that applies its scientific expertise and proprietary technologies to
develop innovative medicines that improve patient outcomes. The company
has a diversified portfolio of more than 20 commercial drug products and
a substantial clinical pipeline of product candidates that address
central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia
and depression. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes plc has an
R&D center in Waltham, Massachusetts; a research and manufacturing
facility in Athlone, Ireland; and manufacturing facilities in
Gainesville, Georgia and Wilmington, Ohio. For more information, please
visit Alkermes’ website at www.alkermes.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements set forth above may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements concerning
future operating performance, business plans or prospects; our
expectations concerning the timing and results of our clinical
development activities; the likelihood that ALKS 5461 or aripiprazole
lauroxil or the company’s other pipeline product candidates will reach
commercial stage; and the market potential for the company’s product
candidates. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are
subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are
beyond the company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, among others: whether clinical
development activities will be completed on time or at all and whether
the results of such activities will be predictive of real-world results
or of results in subsequent clinical trials; whether the company, and
its partners, are able to continue to successfully commercialize its
products; the possibility of adverse decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) or regulatory authorities outside the U.S.
regarding the company’s products; the possibility that the company’s
products may prove difficult to manufacture, be precluded from
commercialization by the proprietary rights of third parties, or have
unintended side effects, adverse reactions or incidents of misuse; and
those risks described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended March 31, 2012, and in other filings made by the company
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and which are
available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date they are made. The information contained in this press release is
provided by the company as of the date hereof and, except as required by
law, the company disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating
any forward-looking information contained in this press release.
INCIVEK® and KALYDECO® are registered trademarks
of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.
Source: Alkermes plc
Alkermes Contacts:
For Investors:
Rebecca
Peterson, + 1 781 609 6378
or
For Media:
Jennifer Snyder,
+1 781 609 6166