SAN DIEGO, July 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Retrophin, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTRX) today announced the appointment of Noah L. Rosenberg, M.D., as chief medical officer, where he will oversee the clinical development of Retrophin’s product pipeline. Dr. Rosenberg brings to Retrophin more than 20 years of clinical and therapeutic development experience, including advancing several mid- and late-stage programs across therapeutic areas through to commercialization.
“Noah’s expertise and career-long focus on therapeutic innovation and patient quality of care strengthens our leadership team and aligns seamlessly with our mission of identifying, developing and delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases,” said Stephen Aselage, chief executive officer of Retrophin. “We look forward to Noah’s contributions during this important time as we advance two pivotal Phase 3 programs in the clinic and multiple additional studies planned to begin later this year.”
Dr. Rosenberg joins Retrophin from Medimetriks Pharmaceuticals, where he served as chief medical officer and was responsible for the clinical development and medical strategy for pipeline candidates and multiple product launches, including the most recent approval of XepiTM. Previously, Dr. Rosenberg served as chief medical officer of Esperion Therapeutics, where he led the design, protocol implementation, execution and monitoring of innovative clinical programs. Prior to joining Esperion, Dr. Rosenberg served as the executive director and head of cardiovascular and metabolism clinical development for the Forest Research Institute, where he led the advancement of multiple late-stage clinical trials. Earlier in his career, Dr. Rosenberg held leadership roles in clinical development, medical affairs and administration at Sanofi Aventis and Pfizer.
“I am excited to join an organization with an unparalleled dedication to improving patient quality of care for people living with rare diseases, and I look forward to building upon the impressive progress made to date by the Retrophin team in advancing a promising pipeline with first-in-class potential,” stated Dr. Rosenberg.
Dr. Rosenberg completed his internal medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Rosenberg holds an M.D. from the Drexel University College of Medicine and received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
Inducement Awards
In connection with the hiring of Dr. Rosenberg, on July 26, 2018, Retrophin's Compensation Committee granted the following inducement awards to Dr. Rosenberg: (i) a stock option to purchase 65,000 shares of Retrophin common stock, (ii) a performance-based restricted stock unit award covering 10,000 shares of Retrophin common stock, and (iii) a time-based restricted stock unit award covering 10,000 shares of Retrophin common stock. The stock option has an exercise price per share equal to the closing price of Retrophin's common stock on the date of grant. The stock option is a non-qualified stock option, has a 10-year term and will vest over four years, with one-fourth vesting on the one-year anniversary of the grant date and the remaining three-fourths vesting over the following three years in thirty-six equal monthly installments. The performance-based restricted stock unit award will vest upon Retrophin's achievement of specified clinical and regulatory milestones; provided, however, that no portion of the performance-based restricted stock unit award will vest prior to the one-year anniversary of the grant date and provided further that the performance-based restricted stock unit award will expire on May 10, 2022 to the extent the specified clinical and regulatory milestones are not achieved by such date. The time-based restricted stock unit award will vest over four years, with one-fourth vesting on each anniversary of the grant date.
Each of the stock awards described above is subject to the terms of Retrophin's 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, but was granted outside of the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, and was granted as an inducement material to Dr. Rosenberg entering into employment with Retrophin in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
About Retrophin
Retrophin is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in identifying, developing and delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases. The Company’s approach centers on its pipeline featuring late-stage assets targeting rare diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including fosmetpantotenate for pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), a life-threatening neurological disorder that typically begins in early childhood, and sparsentan for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and IgA nephropathy (IgAN), disorders characterized by progressive scarring of the kidney often leading to end-stage renal disease. Research in additional rare diseases is also underway, including a joint development arrangement evaluating the potential of CNSA-001 in phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic metabolic condition that can lead to neurological and behavioral impairment. Retrophin’s R&D efforts are supported by revenues from the Company’s commercial products Chenodal®, Cholbam® and Thiola®.
Retrophin.com
Contact:
Chris Cline, CFA
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
760-260-8600
IR@retrophin.com
Source: Retrophin, Inc.