CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrimack
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) ("Merrimack" or the "Company")
today announced that Richard Peters,
M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as the Company's President and
Chief Executive Officer, effective February
6, 2017, at which time he will also be appointed to the
Merrimack Board of Directors. Dr. Peters will join Merrimack from
his current role at Sanofi Genzyme, where he serves as Senior Vice
President and Head of Global Rare Diseases. He replaces
Gary Crocker, Chairman and Interim
President and CEO, who guided the Company during the recent
restructuring process and search for a permanent CEO and will
remain Chairman of the Board.
Dr. Peters is a veteran healthcare executive with 25 years of
biopharmaceutical industry experience and a proven record of
building and leading organizations in diverse settings and life
cycle phases: from development stage companies to large, global
pharmaceutical companies. In his role at Sanofi Genzyme, he is
responsible for a global, $3 billion
per year business with 10 commercialized products and a robust,
multi-product development pipeline focusing on several therapeutic
areas. He is an expert in the field of Oncology, previously serving
as Division Medical Officer at Sanofi Oncology, and is the former
Head of Global and US Medical Affairs at Genzyme
Transplant/Oncology. He has also served as a Senior Director at
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, as a Director at Amgen, and as Chief
Executive Officer of Mednav, a venture capital-backed healthcare
information technology startup. Dr. Peters is a Harvard-trained physician-scientist, and has served
on the faculty at the Massachusetts General Hospital and completed
a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellowship in biophysics at
Harvard Medical School. He is also an
active founder and angel biotech investor in start-up
biopharmaceutical companies.
"Dr. Peters is a highly respected industry veteran and
thought-leader, with the vision and experience necessary to oversee
Merrimack's successful execution as a refocused clinical-stage and
R&D company," said Gary Crocker,
Chairman of the Board and Interim President and CEO. "Dr. Peters
has deep expertise in advancing oncology pipeline assets from early
stage research through development and commercialization, and his
experience and medical background will bring important new
perspective to the Company's development pipeline. We are
confident that he is the right leader to oversee the advancement of
Merrimack's portfolio, which as we recently announced, will focus
on our three highest potential assets, MM-121, MM-141 and MM-310.
On behalf of the Board and management team, we look forward to
working closely with Dr. Peters to achieve our objectives for the
new Merrimack."
Dr. Peters will assume the leadership of a restructured and more
financially disciplined Merrimack as a result of the
Company's announcement on January 9,
2017 that it has entered into an agreement with Ipsen to
sell its first product ONIVYDE® and its generic version of
doxorubicin hydrochloride (HCI) liposome injection ("generic
DOXIL®") for up to $1.025 billion.
Merrimack intends to use the proceeds to extinguish its senior
secured debt notes, pay a special cash dividend to stockholders and
fully fund its clinical development-focused operations into the
second half of 2019.
"I am excited for the opportunity to join Merrimack at a time of
renewed company focus," said Dr. Peters. "With the support of the
Board of Directors and the expected near-term infusion of capital,
several compelling clinical assets are now primed to realize their
full potential. Together with the rest of the management team, we
plan on continuing to take substantial steps to grow our robust
pipeline to its full potential, with an eye toward early data
read-outs, to maximize value creation for patients and
stockholders."
About Merrimack
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company based
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More
information can be found at www.merrimack.com.
Additional Information about the Transaction and Where to
Find It
This disclosure is being made in respect of the asset sale
contemplated by the Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement between the
Company and Ipsen. The proposed asset sale will be submitted to the
Company's stockholders for their consideration. In connection with
the proposed asset sale, the Company will file a proxy statement
with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). This press
release does not constitute a solicitation of any vote or proxy
from any stockholder of the Company. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ
THE PROXY STATEMENT CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY WHEN IT BECOMES
AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS OR MATERIALS FILED OR TO
BE FILED WITH THE SEC OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY
STATEMENT, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT
THE ASSET SALE. The final proxy statement will be mailed to the
Company's stockholders. In addition, the proxy statement and other
documents will be available free of charge at the SEC's internet
website, www.sec.gov. When available, the proxy statement and other
pertinent documents also may be obtained free of charge at the
Company's website, www.merrimack.com, or by directing a written
request to Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., One Kendall Square, Suite B7201, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, telephone
number (617) 441-1000.
Participants in the Solicitation
Merrimack and its directors, executive officers and other
members of management and employees may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the
proposed asset sale. Information about Merrimack's directors and
executive officers is included in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2015 filed with the SEC on February
26, 2016 and the proxy statement for Merrimack's 2016 annual
meeting of stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2016. Additional information regarding
these persons and their interests in the transaction will be
included in the proxy statement relating to the proposed asset sale
when it is filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free
of charge from the sources indicated above.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements of the Company
that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements,
other than statements of historical facts, contained in this
release are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements
can be identified by the use of the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict,"
"project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could,"
"should," "continue," and similar expressions. The Company's
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about
the expected dividend, potential milestone payments, and Company's
expectations with respect to the consummation of the proposed
transaction and its ability to fund its operations, including
continued investment in its research and development pipeline.
Actual events or results may differ materially from those described
in this release due to a number of risks and uncertainties.
Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related
to the satisfaction of the conditions to closing the asset sale
(including the failure to obtain stockholder approval); whether the
Company's expenses are as predicted; whether the Company is able to
satisfy the necessary legal tests required to make the anticipated
dividend; and those risk factors discussed in the Company's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 filed with the SEC on
November 9, 2016 and its other
filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements in this
release represent the Company's views as of the date of this
release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and
developments will cause its views to change. However, while it may
elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in
the future, it has no current intention of doing so except to the
extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely
on these forward-looking statements as representing the Company's
views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release.
Contacts:
Geoffrey Grande, CFA
617-441-7602
ggrande@merrimack.com
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SOURCE Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.