On November 14, 2018 Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: RNN), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies to improve outcomes in cancers that are difficult to treat, reported that Douglas J. Swirsky, who has served as Rexahn’s president and chief financial officer since January 2018, has been named the company’s president and chief executive officer and appointed to the company’s board of directors effective immediately (Press release, Rexahn, NOV 14, 2018, View Source [SID1234531477]). Peter D. Suzdak, Ph.D., chief executive officer, has departed the company and resigned as a member of its board of directors.
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"On behalf of the board and everyone at Rexahn, I want to thank Peter Suzdak for his contributions to the company over the past six years," said Peter Brandt, chairman of the board of directors. "The board is confident that Doug has the experience and creativity to deliver on the promise of Rexahn’s innovative pipeline and lead the company forward through substantial value-creating milestones."
"I am excited about the future of Rexahn and believe significant opportunities exist to transform Rexahn into an industry-leading, cancer-focused company. I look forward to working with the board, the executive team and all stakeholders to achieve this goal," said Mr. Swirsky.
Prior to joining Rexahn, Mr. Swirsky was CEO and a director of GenVec, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, a position he held from 2013 through the sale of the company in 2017. He also served as GenVec’s CFO from 2006 until he assumed the role of CEO in 2013. Prior to joining GenVec, Mr. Swirsky was a managing director and the head of life sciences investment banking at Stifel Nicolaus from 2005 to 2006 and held investment banking positions at Legg Mason from 2002 until Stifel Financial’s acquisition of the Legg Mason Capital Markets business in 2005. He has also previously held investment banking positions at UBS, PaineWebber and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Swirsky currently serves on the board of directors of Fibrocell Science, Inc., Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. and Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. He is a certified public accountant and a CFA charter holder. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University and his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Mr. Swirsky will also continue to serve as the company’s principal financial officer.