NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Retrophin, Inc. (OTCQB:RTRX) today announced the appointment of several new senior executives to its management team. The addition of personnel in these newly created positions is intended to complement the current and expected growth of Company’s pipeline and other operational activities going forward. New hires include Maria Beconi, Ph.D., Vice President of Preclinical Development; Ronald Guido, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs; Jennifer Hunt, Vice President of Clinical Operations; Nils Olsson, Ph.D., Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC); Ryan Bucco, Pharm.D., Director of Medical Strategy; and Kristyn Bogli, Director of Clinical Logistics.
Commenting on today’s news, Martin Shkreli, President and Chief Executive Officer of Retrophin noted, “We are delighted to welcome Maria, Ron, Jennifer, Nils, Ryan, and Kristyn to our team. These talented new executives are joining Retrophin at a time of accelerating growth for the Company. Their addition to our Company provides the bandwidth needed as we progress our current pipeline compounds and look for potential new drug candidates or acquisitions that may allow us to address other important and serious, unmet medical needs.”
Maria Beconi, Ph.D., will join Retrophin on November 19, 2013 as Vice President of Preclinical Development, bringing with her approximately 20 years of experience in the field. Prior to joining Retrophin, Dr. Beconi has served as Founder of KAB DMPK Strategies, LLC, acting as independent consultant for nonclinical sciences to clients including Lundbeck (Ovation), TB Alliance, Boehringer Ingelheim Vet Med and others. Before that, Dr. Beconi held the position of Director DMPK at CHDI Foundation, a virtual not-for-profit biotechnology company aimed at finding therapies for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Dr. Beconi’s previous positions included Director, Drug Metabolism at Abbott Laboratories; Manager and US-Site Head, riCEDD DMPK at GlaxoSmithKline; Research Fellow and Principal Investigator at Merck Research Labs; and Group Leader at Upjohn/Pharmacia/Monsanto. Dr. Beconi received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, a Master’s degree in Animal Science/Statistics from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry/Chemistry from Michigan State University.
Ronald Guido joined Retrophin as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs on October 28, 2013, bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs. Prior to Retrophin, Mr. Guido spent approximately three years at Veloxis Pharmaceuticals/LifeCycle Pharma, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality Systems. Before that, he spent five years at Pfizer, Inc., where his most recent position was Senior Director, Therapeutic Area Head, Cardiovascular Medicine. Prior experience includes Lecturer-Biological Sciences at Columbia University and Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Quality System at V.I. Technologies/Precision Pharma Services. Mr. Guido earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Caldwell College and Master’s degrees in Pharmaceutical Medicine from Hibernia College in Dublin, and in Technical Communications from Polytechnic Institute of New York. He is the author of several articles which have appeared in peer reviewed journals and is co-author of “Career Development in Bioengineering and Biotechnology,” published in 2008. He is a frequent panelist at Regulatory Affairs seminars.
Jennifer Hunt joined Retrophin as Vice President of Clinical Operations on October 15, 2013, bringing with her over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Retrophin, Ms. Hunt was Senior Director, Clinical Project Management at Quintiles, Inc. Before that, she served in numerous positions of increasing responsibility at Genzyme Corporation, most recently as Senior Director, Clinical Research. While with Genzyme, Ms. Hunt also served as Director, Clinical Research: Global Team Leader for Myozyme®/Pompe, where she led the cross-functional clinical development team from IND preparation and regulatory negotiations through post-approval activities. Ms. Hunt received her Bachelor of Science degree in environmental and forest biology from the State University of New York and a Master’s degree in Management from Lesley University. Her work has been published in several medical journals.
Nils Olsson, Ph.D., will join Retrophin on December 9, 2013 as Vice President, Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC), bringing with him over 25 years of biotechnology experience. For the past 11 years, Dr. Olsson has served as Senior Director of Quality Control for Sangart, Inc. Among other positions, Dr. Olsson also served as Associate Director, CMC Regulatory Affairs at Élan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Senior Director, Analytical Chemistry at Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at The National Institutes of Health. Dr. Olsson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry (Lipid Analysis) from the University of Stockholm. He is the author or co-author of over 30 published articles.
Ryan Bucco, Pharm.D. joined Retrophin as Director of Medical Strategy on November 11, 2013. Mr. Bucco brings over 10 years of experience in medical strategy development. Before joining Retrophin, he served in positions of increasing responsibility at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Associate Director of Global Medical Affairs Training, Operations and Effectiveness. Prior to that, Mr. Bucco held the position of Medical Service Liaison at Genzyme, Inc. His previous experience includes positions at Amgen, Inc., PDL BioPharma, Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and Braintree Laboratories, Inc. Mr. Bucco received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Rider University and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Rutgers University.
Kristyn Bogli joined Retrophin on October 14, 2013 as Director of Clinical Logistics. Prior to Retrophin, Ms. Bogli spent three years at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, most recently as Manager, Clinical Supplies. Before that, Ms. Bogli spent approximately five years with CEVA Logistics, serving in various capacities within Global Account Customer Service, both in the U.S. and France. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Northeastern University and attended the Centre d’Etudes Supérieures Européennes de Management (CESEM) program at Reims Management School in Reims, France, earning credits toward her Bachelor of Science degree. Ms. Bogli is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.
About Retrophin
Retrophin is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of debilitating and often life-threatening diseases for which there are currently no viable patient options. The Company is currently focused on several catastrophic diseases affecting children, including Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration (PKAN) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Retrophin's lead compound, RE-021, is scheduled to begin enrollment in a potentially pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of FSGS during 2013. For additional information, please visit www.retrophin.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may", "might", "believes", "thinks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in the press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the Company's business. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
