ALISO VIEJO, Calif.,
Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the
appointment of Rohan Palekar as
president and chief executive officer. Mr. Palekar joined Avanir in
March 2012 as senior vice president
and chief commercial officer and was promoted to executive vice
president and chief operating officer in March 2015. Mr. Palekar replaces Keith A. Katkin, who has served as president and
CEO since March 2007 and will
transition to the board of directors for Avanir.
"After nearly a decade of serving as Avanir's president and CEO,
I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and how much we
have grown, transitioning from a development to a commercial
organization," said Mr. Katkin. "During that time, we have
had the opportunity to help thousands of patients who suffer from
Psuedobulbar Affect (PBA) and develop a strong pipeline. I am very
pleased to be transitioning to this new role and handing the reins
to Rohan, a passionate and innovative leader who has a 20-year
track record in managing and growing organizations and brands and
has made significant contributions since joining Avanir over three
years ago. I look forward to continuing to be involved in the
company in my new role serving as a member of Avanir's board of
directors."
"I am excited by the opportunity to lead Avanir as we continue
to successfully commercialize our first FDA-approved product,
NUEDEXTA, transition to a two-product company with the potential
near-term approval of our migraine candidate, AVP-825, and advance
the development of our pipeline of products for CNS disorders,"
said Mr. Palekar. "This pipeline is key to achieving our vision of
becoming a leading specialty CNS company and helping patients
suffering from a wide range of CNS disorders."
Mr. Palekar has more than 20 years of experience in the
biopharmaceutical industry in drug development and
commercialization. In his prior position as EVP and chief operating
officer for Avanir, he led the commercial, finance and IT, legal
affairs, human resources, business development and corporate
communications functions. Prior to joining Avanir, Mr. Palekar was
chief commercial officer for Medivation, a biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing drugs in oncology and neuroscience.
Prior to Medivation, he spent 16 years at Johnson & Johnson in
various senior commercial and strategic management roles, including
worldwide vice president of immunology and vice president of sales
and marketing at Centocor. Mr. Palekar received an M.B.A. from the
Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and a B.A./B.S. in law and
accounting from the University of
Bombay.
About Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on bringing innovative medicines to patients with central
nervous system disorders of high unmet medical need. As part of our
commitment, we have extensively invested in our pipeline and are
dedicated to advancing medicines that can substantially improve the
lives of patients and their loved ones. For more information about
Avanir, please visit http://www.avanir.com.
Avanir is a subsidiary of Otsuka
America, Inc. (OAI), a holding company established in the
U.S. in 1989. OAI is wholly owned by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.,
Ltd., a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy:
'Otsuka-people creating new products for better health
worldwide.'
Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a leading firm in the challenging area
of mental health and also has products and research programs for
several under-addressed diseases including tuberculosis, a
significant global public health issue. These commitments
illustrate more powerfully than words how Otsuka is a "big venture"
company at heart, applying a youthful spirit of creativity in
everything it does.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical and its affiliates employ approximately
30,000 people globally, and the company welcomes you to visit its
global website at: http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/index.php.
Avanir® is a trademark or registered trademark of Avanir
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in the United
States and other countries.
©2016 Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Media Contact
Nicole
Foderaro
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SOURCE Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.