On April 11, 2019 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH / TSX: AUP) ("Aurinia" or the "Company"), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the global immunology market, reported the appointment of Mr. Peter Greenleaf as Chief Executive Officer and as a Director on the Aurinia Board (Press release, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, APR 11, 2019, View Source [SID1234535103]). The Company also announced the elevation of George M. Milne, Jr., Ph.D. to Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Richard M. Glickman, who previously announced his plans to retire on November 6, 2018, will step down from his role as Chairman and CEO concurrent with Mr. Greenleaf’s appointment on April 29, 2019, and will remain an advisor to the Company for a period of 12 months.
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With more than twenty years of experience leading pharmaceutical and biotech firms, Mr. Greenleaf most recently served as the CEO of Cerecor, a leading U.S. pediatric orphan and rare disease pharmaceutical company. Prior to that, Mr. Greenleaf was the Chairman and CEO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals which he led through the successful sale to Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, PLC for $1.2B. Previously, Mr. Greenleaf served as the CEO and Board member of Histogenics, a regenerative medicine company. Prior to that he was the President of MedImmune, Inc, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, and President of MedImmune Ventures, a wholly owned venture capital fund within the AstraZeneca Group, where he led investment in emerging biopharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic companies.
"It is a pleasure to welcome Peter as the next Chief Executive Officer of Aurinia. As a seasoned leader in the pharmaceutical industry, Peter’s extensive knowledge of clinical and overall operations, along with business development and commercialization expertise, are ideally aligned with the next stages of growth for voclosporin and Aurinia," stated Dr. George Milne, incoming Chairman of the Board of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals.
"The Aurinia team has made extraordinary progress with voclosporin, which I believe to be a truly transformative drug for the potential treatment of proteinuric kidney diseases, such as lupus nephritis ("LN"), as well as a unique opportunity for the treatment of dry eye syndrome ("DES")," commented Mr. Greenleaf. "To that end, I am very excited to lead the Company at this pivotal time and through several critical datapoints over the next year including Phase 3 trial results by the end of 2019, followed by the planned regulatory submission and preparations for the potential commercialization of voclosporin during 2020."
Dr. Milne further commented, "I am also humbled to be assuming the Chairman role from Dr. Glickman. On behalf of the entire board and organization, I would like to thank Dr. Glickman for all of his efforts and contributions that have brought Aurinia to where it is today. As we wish him all the best on his retirement, we are also gratified to have his insight as an advisor for the next year."
Dr. Glickman stated, "Consistent with the succession planning set into motion last November, I am confident that Peter is the correct individual to lead Aurinia through the next set of value inflection points including the upcoming AURORA Phase 3 results, preparing for the potential launch of voclosporin, and expansion of the VOS dry eye syndrome program."
About Mr. Peter Greenleaf
Peter Greenleaf previously served as CEO of Cerecor, Inc., since March 2018. Prior to that he served as Chairman and CEO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from March 2014 to February 2018, when Sucampo was sold to Mallinckrodt PLC. Previously, Mr. Greenleaf served as CEO of Histogenics Corporation from June 2013 to March 2014, as President of MedImmune, Inc., and MedImmune Ventures from 2010 to June 2013, and Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations of MedImmune from 2006 to 2010. Mr. Greenleaf also held senior commercial roles at Centocor Biotech, Inc. (now Janssen Biotechnology, Johnson & Johnson), from 1998 to 2006, and at Boehringer Mannheim G.m.b.H. (now Roche Holdings) from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Greenleaf is a member of the Board of Directors of Cerecor since May 2017, is the Chairman of the Board of Bio-delivery Sciences since May 2018, EyeGate Pharmaceuticals since August 2018, and Antares Pharma since December 2018. Mr. Greenleaf chairs the Maryland Venture Fund Authority, and previously served on the boards of BIO, PhARMA, the Tech Council of Maryland and the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. Mr. Greenleaf earned an MBA degree from St. Joseph’s University and a BS degree from Western Connecticut State University.
About George M. Milne, Jr., Ph.D.
Dr. Milne was appointed to the Aurinia Board of Directors in May 2017 and serves as Chair of the Company’s Governance & Nomination Committee. Dr. Milne has over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and product development. He joined Pfizer in 1970 and held a variety of positions conducting both chemistry and pharmacology research. Dr. Milne became director of the department of immunology and infectious diseases at Pfizer in 1981, was its executive director from 1984 to 1985, and was vice president of research and development from 1985 to 1988. He was appointed senior vice president in 1988. In 1993 he was appointed President of Pfizer Central Research and a senior vice president of Pfizer with global responsibility for human and veterinary medicine research and development. Dr. Milne has served on multiple corporate boards including Mettler-Toledo, Inc., MedImmune, Athersys, Biostorage Technologies, Aspreva, and Conor Medsystems. Dr. Milne received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Yale University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from MIT.