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BASEL, Switzerland and IRVINE, Calif., April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Urovant Sciences, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for urologic conditions, today announced that it has strengthened its management team through the appointment of five senior executives: Cornelia Haag-Molkenteller M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Michael McFadden as Chief Commercial Officer, Bryan E. Smith as General Counsel, Christine Ocampo as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, and Nori Ebersole as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Urovant also announced that it has established its U.S. headquarters in Irvine, California.
"Cornelia, Michael, Bryan, Christine, and Nori are all outstanding leaders in their respective fields and they will each contribute to Urovant's success," said Keith Katkin, Chief Executive Officer of Urovant. "As we continue to enroll patients with overactive bladder in our pivotal Phase 3 trial for vibegron, EMPOWUR, it is critical that we grow our team with the best talent in the industry to simultaneously advance our clinical programs and prepare for the eventual commercialization of our products."
Dr. Haag-Molkenteller is a board-certified urologist with over 26 years of global experience in clinical development and medical affairs. She most recently served as Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head in Global Clinical Development for Women's Health, Internal Medicine, Anti-Infectives, and Urology at Allergan. While at Allergan, she led multiple development projects including the clinical development of onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity and overactive bladder. Before joining Allergan, Dr. Haag-Molkenteller was Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head for Clinical Development in Urology at Schwarz Biosciences (now UCB) and started her career in the pharmaceutical industry with roles in clinical development and medical affairs at Hoechst-Marion-Roussel (now Sanofi). She received her M.D. and Ph.D. from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany and completed her clinical residency in urology in Germany.
Mr. McFadden has over 27 years of experience leading successful drug commercialization efforts across many therapeutic areas including urology. He served as Senior Vice President, Commercial at Avanir Pharmaceuticals and previously held leadership roles in commercial development, marketing, and sales at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia, and Eli Lilly & Company. He has participated in numerous successful pharmaceutical drug launches, including those for NUEDEXTA®, DETROL LA®, BYETTA®, ZYPREXA®, and CELEBREX®. Mr. McFadden received his B.A. in Business Administration and Accounting from Northeast Louisiana University.
Mr. Smith most recently served as Associate Vice President and Senior Counsel at Allergan, where he was chief counsel to the company's Urology, Neurology, Aesthetics, and Dermatology business units. Mr. Smith also led Allergan's anti-counterfeiting and anti-diversion efforts in close cooperation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and other federal, state, and international law enforcement agencies. Prior to joining Allergan, Mr. Smith was a litigator at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Smith received his B.A. in Political Science from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School. After graduating from law school, Mr. Smith was a law clerk to the Honorable Cormac J. Carney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Ms. Ocampo has over 20 years of accounting and finance experience, including over 15 years as the head of finance for publicly-traded companies in the healthcare industry. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Novus Therapeutics. Before joining Novus, Ms. Ocampo was Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of Finance at Avanir Pharmaceuticals from 2007 to 2015, where she played a key role in the company's sale to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Prior to Avanir, she served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of Cardiogenesis Corporation. After earning a B.A. in Business and Accounting from Seattle University, Ms. Ocampo began her career at Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Ocampo is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Ms. Ebersole has over 25 years of global strategic human resources experience. She most recently served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Paul Hastings LLP, leading the redesign of its compensation system and talent acquisition. Before joining Paul Hastings, she spent 18 years at Allergan, where she was Vice President, Human Resources, partnering with executives globally on key strategic initiatives in the Urology, Neurology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, and Aesthetics business units. At Allergan, Ms. Ebersole led numerous commercial and R&D expansions, compensation planning, leadership development, and retention strategies. She received her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and currently serves on the board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Orange County.
About Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition that affects as many as 46 million adults in the United States alone. The most common symptoms of OAB include the experience of sudden urges to urinate that cannot be controlled, frequent urination, and urinary incontinence due to involuntary contractions of the detrusor muscle. While several conditions may contribute to signs and symptoms of overactive bladder, the underlying cause of OAB remains unclear.
About Vibegron
Vibegron is an investigational oral ?3-adrenergic agonist being studied for the treatment of OAB. ?3-adrenergic receptors play a role in the bladder fill-void cycle. By stimulating that pathway, vibegron has the potential to relax the bladder detrusor muscle. Relaxing the bladder allows it to store urine more efficiently, thereby decreasing the symptoms of OAB. Over 2,700 patients with symptoms of OAB have previously been enrolled in clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of vibegron and over 2,350 individuals have received vibegron in past studies.
About Urovant Sciences
Urovant Sciences is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for urologic conditions. Urovant's lead therapeutic candidate is vibegron, a potent and selective ?3-adrenergic agonist being developed for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency.
Urovant has licensed global rights, excluding Japan and certain Asian territories, for the development and commercialization of vibegron. Urovant intends to develop treatments for additional urologic diseases. For more information, please visit urovant.com.
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"Cornelia, Michael, Bryan, Christine, and Nori are all outstanding leaders in their respective fields and they will each contribute to Urovant's success," said Keith Katkin, Chief Executive Officer of Urovant. "As we continue to enroll patients with overactive bladder in our pivotal Phase 3 trial for vibegron, EMPOWUR, it is critical that we grow our team with the best talent in the industry to simultaneously advance our clinical programs and prepare for the eventual commercialization of our products."
Dr. Haag-Molkenteller is a board-certified urologist with over 26 years of global experience in clinical development and medical affairs. She most recently served as Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head in Global Clinical Development for Women's Health, Internal Medicine, Anti-Infectives, and Urology at Allergan. While at Allergan, she led multiple development projects including the clinical development of onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity and overactive bladder. Before joining Allergan, Dr. Haag-Molkenteller was Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head for Clinical Development in Urology at Schwarz Biosciences (now UCB) and started her career in the pharmaceutical industry with roles in clinical development and medical affairs at Hoechst-Marion-Roussel (now Sanofi). She received her M.D. and Ph.D. from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany and completed her clinical residency in urology in Germany.
Mr. McFadden has over 27 years of experience leading successful drug commercialization efforts across many therapeutic areas including urology. He served as Senior Vice President, Commercial at Avanir Pharmaceuticals and previously held leadership roles in commercial development, marketing, and sales at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia, and Eli Lilly & Company. He has participated in numerous successful pharmaceutical drug launches, including those for NUEDEXTA®, DETROL LA®, BYETTA®, ZYPREXA®, and CELEBREX®. Mr. McFadden received his B.A. in Business Administration and Accounting from Northeast Louisiana University.
Mr. Smith most recently served as Associate Vice President and Senior Counsel at Allergan, where he was chief counsel to the company's Urology, Neurology, Aesthetics, and Dermatology business units. Mr. Smith also led Allergan's anti-counterfeiting and anti-diversion efforts in close cooperation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and other federal, state, and international law enforcement agencies. Prior to joining Allergan, Mr. Smith was a litigator at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Smith received his B.A. in Political Science from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School. After graduating from law school, Mr. Smith was a law clerk to the Honorable Cormac J. Carney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Ms. Ocampo has over 20 years of accounting and finance experience, including over 15 years as the head of finance for publicly-traded companies in the healthcare industry. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Novus Therapeutics. Before joining Novus, Ms. Ocampo was Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of Finance at Avanir Pharmaceuticals from 2007 to 2015, where she played a key role in the company's sale to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Prior to Avanir, she served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of Cardiogenesis Corporation. After earning a B.A. in Business and Accounting from Seattle University, Ms. Ocampo began her career at Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Ocampo is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Ms. Ebersole has over 25 years of global strategic human resources experience. She most recently served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Paul Hastings LLP, leading the redesign of its compensation system and talent acquisition. Before joining Paul Hastings, she spent 18 years at Allergan, where she was Vice President, Human Resources, partnering with executives globally on key strategic initiatives in the Urology, Neurology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, and Aesthetics business units. At Allergan, Ms. Ebersole led numerous commercial and R&D expansions, compensation planning, leadership development, and retention strategies. She received her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and currently serves on the board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Orange County.
About Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition that affects as many as 46 million adults in the United States alone. The most common symptoms of OAB include the experience of sudden urges to urinate that cannot be controlled, frequent urination, and urinary incontinence due to involuntary contractions of the detrusor muscle. While several conditions may contribute to signs and symptoms of overactive bladder, the underlying cause of OAB remains unclear.
About Vibegron
Vibegron is an investigational oral ?3-adrenergic agonist being studied for the treatment of OAB. ?3-adrenergic receptors play a role in the bladder fill-void cycle. By stimulating that pathway, vibegron has the potential to relax the bladder detrusor muscle. Relaxing the bladder allows it to store urine more efficiently, thereby decreasing the symptoms of OAB. Over 2,700 patients with symptoms of OAB have previously been enrolled in clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of vibegron and over 2,350 individuals have received vibegron in past studies.
About Urovant Sciences
Urovant Sciences is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for urologic conditions. Urovant's lead therapeutic candidate is vibegron, a potent and selective ?3-adrenergic agonist being developed for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency.
Urovant has licensed global rights, excluding Japan and certain Asian territories, for the development and commercialization of vibegron. Urovant intends to develop treatments for additional urologic diseases. For more information, please visit urovant.com.
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SOURCE Urovant Sciences
