– Key hires support clinical development and pre-commercial planning for advancing pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates to address serious brain disease –
WALTHAM, Mass. – Dec. 2, 2015 – FORUM Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company singularly focused on the development and delivery of transformative medicines to treat serious brain diseases, today announced the appointment of George Parker as Chief Human Resources Officer. Mr. Parker will be a member of the Company's executive committee with responsibility for all aspects of human resources across the organization. FORUM also announced the appointment of key hires in critical and newly created positions: Stephen Brannan, M.D., as Vice President Clinical Research and Medical Affairs; Diana Hughes, M.D. as Vice President, Pharmacovigilance and Medical Risk Management; Robert Pintar, M.B.A., as Vice President, Supply Chain Operations; and A.J. Sankoh, Ph.D., as Vice President, Biostatistics and Statistical Programming.
"We are pleased to have these talented leaders join FORUM at this important time in our corporate development, as we believe that their proven leadership and skill sets will benefit us as FORUM transitions from a developmental stage company towards a fully integrated, biopharmaceutical company," said Deborah Dunsire, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of FORUM. "Top-line results from the Phase 3 encenicline clinical trials for the treatment of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia are anticipated in the first half of 2016, and if supported by the data, a submission for approval will be filed with the FDA. These new team members have the depth of experience to help drive NDA preparations forward so that we may potentially deliver new medicines to benefit patients and families affected by serious brain diseases."
George Parker, Chief Human Resources Officer
Mr. Parker has more than 25 years of broad human resources experience in life science and pharmaceutical companies, covering all areas of HR, including talent acquisition and management, compensation, benefits, mergers and acquisitions, employee relations, training, and organizational development. He has advised, built and managed the human resources function for companies both public and private and international and domestic.
Prior to FORUM, Mr. Parker most recently served as Vice President, Global Human Resources at Molecular Devices, a life sciences operating company of Danaher Corporation. He was previously Vice President, Human Resources at Cyberonics and PerkinElmer Instruments. Prior to that, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Corporation. Earlier in his career, Mr. Parker was a compensation consultant at KPMG. He holds a B.A. in mathematics from Hobart College.
Stephen Brannan, M.D., Vice President Clinical Research and Medical Affairs
Dr. Brannan has more than 15 years industry experience in clinical and medicals affairs, preceded by 10 years of clinical psychiatric practice. He held roles of increasing responsibility at Takeda, where he was most recently Vice President CNS Clinical Science/PDD Global Therapeutic Area Head, with responsibility for the Depression Programs and other CNS projects. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Brannan held positions of increasing responsibility at Novartis, Cyberonics and Eli Lily. Dr. Brannan holds an M.D. degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas (Southwestern Medical School).
Diana Hughes, M.D., Vice President, Pharmacovigilance and Medical Risk Management
Dr. Hughes brings more than 13 years of extensive pharmaceutical industry experience to FORUM. Dr. Hughes was most recently Vice President, Worldwide Safety and Regulatory at Pfizer, Inc., where she led a pioneering enhanced global labeling initiative. Prior to that at Pfizer, she was Vice President, Worldwide Safety and Regulatory Primary Care Business Unit Lead. Earlier in her career she held positions of increasing responsibility at Pfizer in Pharmacovigilance and Risk Management Strategy. Dr. Hughes holds a Medical Degree from London University.
Robert Pintar, M.B.A., Vice President, Supply Chain Operations
Mr. Pintar has more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry for both large and small companies. Most recently he was Vice President, Supply Chain for Cubist Pharmaceuticals, where he was instrumental in building a supply chain organization that successfully launched new products in the United States and Europe. He held roles of increasing responsibility in supply chain and materials management at several companies, including Sandoz/Novartis, Baxter BioScience and Sanofi Pasteur. Mr. Pintar holds an M.B.A. from the University of Scranton.
A.J. Sankoh, Ph.D., Vice President, Biostatistics and Statistical Programming
Dr. Sankoh has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, supporting drug development, from discovery to post-marketing. Most recently he was Vice President, Biostatistics & Clinical Informatics at Synageva Biopharma. Previously, he held leadership roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, sanofi-aventis and Genetics Institute/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Prior to working for industry, Dr. Sankoh served at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as CDER Statistical Team Leader and Expert Reviewer. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Statistics from the State University of New York, Buffalo.
About FORUM Pharmaceuticals Inc.
FORUM Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("FORUM Pharmaceuticals" or "FORUM") is dedicated to developing transformative medicines to restore the minds of people with serious brain disease, empowering them to preserve their identity, dignity and the essence of what makes us human. The Company's diverse pipeline is focused on discovering and developing new treatments for important neurodegenerative diseases that explore novel mechanisms of action to potentially alter the progression of brain disease and provide improvement in cognitive and overall function. FORUM is privately owned and based in Waltham, Mass. For more information about FORUM, visit www.forumpharma.com.