DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) today announced that it has appointed Mark Namchuk, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President of Research, Pharmaceutical and Nonclinical Development. Dr. Namchuk will be responsible for advancing the company's early-stage product pipeline. He will serve on the executive management team of Alkermes and report to Elliot Ehrich, M.D., Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer.
"Dr. Namchuk brings a wealth of valuable drug discovery and development expertise to our team, which will help to further strengthen our increasingly robust product pipeline," said Richard Pops, Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes. "We look forward to his contributions and drug development insights as we create innovative new medicines and design studies to demonstrate their differentiated properties in addressing patient needs."
Dr. Namchuk joins Alkermes with nearly 20 years of experience in integrated R&D and drug discovery. Most recently, Dr. Namchuk served as Senior Vice President and Interim Global Head of Research for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, leading a group of more than 450 researchers in the discovery of transformational medicines in the areas of infectious disease, oncology, inflammatory diseases, neurology and cystic fibrosis. He has built and led departments supporting the critical components of early pharmaceutical R&D, including medicinal chemistry, protein biophysics, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and clinical and preclinical biomarkers. Earlier in his career, he served as the head of the biochemistry group at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Namchuk obtained his doctorate in bioorganic chemistry from the University of British Columbia and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
"It is an exciting time to join the Alkermes team, with a number of promising programs underway across the company. I look forward to helping advance our current priority drug candidates for CNS diseases and guiding our pharmaceutical development strategy for the future," said Dr. Namchuk.
About Alkermes
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.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements set forth in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements concerning the therapeutic value of the company's investigational product candidates. The company cautions that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Although the company believes that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, the forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and they are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk. Actual performance and results may differ materially from those projected or suggested in the forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include those risks described in the Alkermes plc Transition Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2013, and in other subsequent filings made by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. 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 publicly updating or revising any forward-looking information.
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Alkermes
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