Terrence Moore named as Vice President, Marketing and Sales; Susan Koppy named as Vice President, Corporate Development PT. RICHMOND, Calif., July 2
PT. RICHMOND, Calif., July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Transcept Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. today announced the appointment of Terrence Moore to the position of Vice
President, Marketing and Sales and Susan Koppy to the position of Vice
President, Corporate Development. Both Mr. Moore and Ms. Koppy will report to
President & Chief Executive Officer Glenn A. Oclassen. "We are pleased to
welcome both Terry and Susan to the senior management team at Transcept," said
Mr. Oclassen. "Terry's extensive neuroscience marketing and sales management
experience will be a tremendous asset to Transcept as we prepare to
commercialize our lead product candidate, Intermezzo(R). Susan is an
experienced senior business development executive and she will be a key
contributor to Transcept's future success by identifying and securing new
product opportunities and developing new partner relationships."
Mr. Moore brings over twenty years of sales, marketing, and business
development experience in the pharmaceutical industry to his new role at
Transcept. He has demonstrated exceptional results as a senior member of
management teams at Organon Biosciences (now Schering Plough), Wyeth, Johnson
& Johnson, and Eli Lilly. His contributions include building multi-billion
dollar brands such as Prozac(R), Zyprexa(R), Risperdal(R), and Effexor XR(R).
Immediately prior to joining Transcept, Mr. Moore served as Vice President of
the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area for Organon Biosciences and was responsible
for the creation and building of the Neuroscience Business Unit. Before
joining Organon Biosciences, Mr. Moore served as Vice President, U.S.
Marketing, Effexor XR(R) as well as Vice President, Global Strategy Depression
Portfolio for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Moore holds a BS in Pharmacy from the
University of Florida, a BA in Chemistry from the University of South Florida
and has taken additional executive level courses at the Wharton and Kellogg
Schools of Business.
"I am delighted to join the Transcept management team at such an exciting
time in the company's development," said Mr. Moore. "Intermezzo(R) has the
potential to become an innovative low dose solution for insomnia patients who
wake up in the middle of the night and want to go back to sleep quickly.
Intermezzo(R) will enable patients to treat their middle of the night
awakening only when it occurs, rather than having to take a high dose, 8 hour
medication at bedtime. I'm thrilled to be a part of a team dedicated to
developing and commercializing innovative neuroscience-based products."
Susan Koppy has over 20 years of experience in marketing and business
development in the biopharmaceutical industry and has lived and worked in the
U.S., Europe and Japan. She has negotiated a number of major multi-billion
dollar agreements and is a frequent speaker on business development issues.
Prior to joining Transcept, Susan Koppy served as Senior Vice President,
Business and Corporate Development at Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Previously, Ms. Koppy was Vice President of Strategy and Business Development
at Applied Biosystems, Inc. (ABI) with responsibility for evaluation and
pursuit of licensing and acquisition opportunities. Before joining ABI, Ms.
Koppy served as the Director of Business Development for Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corporation where she was responsible for global business
development opportunities in Infectious Diseases and was a key contributor to
the formation of the strategic alliance between Idenix and Novartis. Ms.
Koppy also served as the Head of Commercial and Business Intelligence for
Novartis Pharma AG and worked in Early Commercial Development with the
Respiratory and Immunology therapeutic areas. She holds a bachelor's degree
in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota.
"I am excited to join a team of executives with extensive experience in
both pharmaceutical development and commercialization," said Ms. Koppy. "I
look forward to leading the Transcept effort to build partner relationships
and to license development programs."
About Intermezzo(R)
Transcept Pharmaceuticals' lead product candidate, Intermezzo(R) (zolpidem
tartrate sublingual lozenge) employs the company's proprietary Bimucoral(R)
technology in a mint-flavored, sublingual lozenge formulated to dissolve under
the tongue in approximately two minutes. This novel pH modification delivery
system has been shown to accelerate the bioavailability of zolpidem, despite
the substantially lower Intermezzo(R) dose vs. the doses employed with
previously available forms of this active agent.
About Transcept Pharmaceuticals
Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company
deriving significant new patient benefits from proven CNS drugs. Transcept
development projects leverage new understanding of CNS conditions to provide
additional uses and enhanced clinical benefits for existing active agents. The
lead Transcept product candidate, Intermezzo(R) (zolpidem tartrate lozenge),
is a low dose formulation of zolpidem for the treatment of insomnia in
patients who awaken in the middle of the night and have difficulty returning
to sleep. Phase 3 clinical trials have been completed for Intermezzo(R) and
Transcept plans to submit an NDA in the third quarter of 2008. Transcept is
also developing TO-2060, a novel, fixed-dose combination of olanzapine and
ondansetron for the treatment of dopamine associated psychiatric disorders.
For further information, please visit the Company's website at:
http://www.transcept.com.
Contacts:
Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.The Ruth Group
Michael Gill Investors / Media
Director of Communications Stephanie Carrington / Jason Rando
(510) 215-3575 (646) 536-7017 / 7025
mgill@transcept.comscarrington@theruthgroup.com
jrando@theruthgroup.com
SOURCE Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
