Company Founders and Venture Investors Fred Middleton and Luke Evnin
to Retire from the Board
PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 12, 2013--
Pacira
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) today announced the appointment
of Mark A. Kronenfeld, M.D., and Dennis L. Winger to its Board of
Directors. Pacira also announced today that Luke Evnin, a managing
director at MPM Capital, and Fred Middleton, a general manager at
Sanderling Ventures, will be stepping down from the Board effective
September 30, 2013. Upon their departure, the Board membership will
total eight.
“We are excited to welcome Mark and Dennis to the Board,” said Dave
Stack, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Pacira. “With
their combined medical insight and deep expertise in developing and
implementing successful commercial strategies, we are looking forward to
working with them as we continue to execute on our own commercial
strategy for EXPAREL®
and enter into the next stage of growth as a company. Additionally, we
would like to recognize Luke and Fred for their innovative vision in
forming the company in 2007 and thank them for their unwavering belief
in our proprietary drug delivery technology and their thoughtful
guidance throughout the development and successful launch of EXPAREL.”
Dr. Kronenfeld was appointed to the board in June 2013. Dr. Kronenfeld
is the vice chairman of anesthesiology at Maimonides Medical Center, a
large tertiary care academic medical center in New York City, since
March 2009, and has served as medical director of Perioperative Services
for Maimonides Medical Center since January 2011. He is a managing
partner of Anesthesia Associates of Boro Park, a private medical
practice, and a managing partner of Strategic Medical Management
Partners. In 2001, Dr. Kronenfeld founded Ridgemark Capital Management,
a healthcare-focused hedge fund that invested in public and private
healthcare and biomedical companies. He served as managing partner and
portfolio manager from April 2001 to December 2008. Dr. Kronenfeld has
founded and/or managed various consulting and investment companies
focused on healthcare and medical technologies and has served on and
chaired multiple leadership committees for various hospitals and medical
centers. Previously, Dr. Kronenfeld taught and practiced adult and
pediatric cardiac anesthesia at NYU and was chief of cardiac
anesthesiology at Hackensack University Medical Center and president of
GMS Anesthesia Associates, a private medical practice. Dr. Kronenfeld
received his M.D. degree and completed his residency in anesthesiology
at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and
completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology at New York
University Medical Center.
Mr. Winger was appointed to the board on September 11, 2013. A proven
life sciences industry executive, Mr. Winger was most recently senior
vice president and chief financial officer of Applera Corporation, a
life sciences company, from September 1997 until his retirement in
December 2008. Previously, he served as senior vice president, finance
and administration, and chief financial officer of Chiron Corporation, a
biotechnology company acquired by Novartis International in 2006. Mr.
Winger currently serves as a director of Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ:
ARAY), a radiation oncology company, and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:
NKTR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. He previously served
on the boards of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated from 2009 to 2012,
Cephalon, Inc. from 2003 to 2011, and Cell Genesys, Inc. from 2004 to
2009. Mr. Winger also serves on the Board of Trustees of Siena College.
He holds a B.A. in history from Siena College and an MBA from Columbia
University Graduate School of Business.
About Pacira
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCRX) is an emerging specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on the clinical and commercial
development of new products that meet the needs of acute care
practitioners and their patients. The company’s current emphasis is the
development of non-opioid products for postsurgical pain control, and
its lead product, EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension),
was commercially launched in the United States in April 2012. EXPAREL
and two other products have utilized the Pacira proprietary product
delivery technology DepoFoam®, a unique platform that encapsulates drugs
without altering their molecular structure and then releases them over a
desired period of time. Additional information about Pacira is available
at www.pacira.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about our future expectations,
plans and prospects, including statements about our plans and
expectations regarding EXPAREL, and other statements containing the
words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar
expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including risks
relating to: the success of our sales and manufacturing efforts in
support of the commercialization of EXPAREL; the rate and degree of
market acceptance of EXPAREL; the size and growth of the potential
markets for EXPAREL and our ability to serve those markets; our plans to
expand the indications of EXPAREL to include nerve block, including
the timing and success of an sNDA; our plans to continue to manufacture
and provide support services for our commercial partners who have
licensed DepoCyt(e); our commercialization and marketing capabilities;
and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” of our most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012,
and in other filings that we periodically make with the SEC. In
addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release
represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate
that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change.
However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements
at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to
do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this
press release.
Source: Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Company Contact:
Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jessica
Cho, 973-254-3574
or
Media Contact:
Pure
Communications, Inc.
Susan Heins, 864-286-9597