OPKO Health Appoints Dr. Akhtar Ashfaq as Renal Division Senior Vice President, Clinical Research and Development
March 03 2017 - 8:00AM
OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) announced the
appointment of Akhtar Ashfaq, MD, FACP, FASN to the position of
Senior Vice President, Clinical Research and Development of OPKO
Health’s Renal Division, effective immediately. In this role,
Dr. Ashfaq will support the ongoing adoption of RAYALDEE®
(calcifediol) extended-release capsules by healthcare professionals
who care for patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease
(CKD). He will lead the further development of RAYALDEE for the
treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in adults with
stage 5 CKD and vitamin D insufficiency who require regular
hemodialysis. He also will lead the development of ALPHAREN®
(fermagate) tablets for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in
adults with stage 5 CKD.
Dr. Ashfaq was previously with AstraZeneca, where he served as
Executive Director and Head of the CKD Program within Global
Medical Affairs. Prior to Astra Zeneca, Dr. Ashfaq was with
Amgen where he served as Medical Director and North American
Medical Lead for Epogen and Aranesp. He is an academic
nephrologist by training and has more than 15 years of clinical
experience.
“We are proud to have Dr. Ashfaq join our growing team that is
focused on developing and commercializing new products for CKD
patients,” stated Phillip Frost, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of OPKO Health. “Dr. Ashfaq will play a major role in
expanding our renal product offerings which are designed to improve
the treatment of SHPT and hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients.”
About OPKO Health, Inc.OPKO Health is a
diversified healthcare company that seeks to establish
industry-leading positions in large, rapidly growing markets. Our
diagnostics business includes Bio-Reference Laboratories, the
nation's third-largest clinical laboratory with a core genetic
testing business and a 400-person sales and marketing team to drive
growth and leverage new products, including the 4Kscore® prostate
cancer test and the Claros® 1 in-office immunoassay platform. Our
pharmaceutical business features RAYALDEE, an FDA-approved
treatment for SHPT in stage 3-4 CKD patients with vitamin D
insufficiency (launched in November 2016), VARUBI™ for
chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (oral formulation launched
by partner TESARO and IV formulation pending FDA approval), TT401,
a once or twice weekly oxyntomodulin for type 2 diabetes and
obesity which is a clinically advanced drug candidate among the new
class of GLP-1 glucagon receptor dual agonists (phase 2), and
TT701, an androgen receptor modulator for androgen deficiency
indications (phase 2). Our biologics business includes
hGH-CTP, a once-weekly human growth hormone injection (in phase 3
and partnered with Pfizer) and a long-acting Factor VIIa drug for
hemophilia (in phase 2a). We also have production and distribution
assets worldwide, multiple strategic investments and an active
business development strategy. More information is available at
www.opko.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT This press release
contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined
under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA),
which statements may be identified by words such as "expects,"
"plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes,"
"should," "intends," "estimates," and other words of similar
meaning, including statements regarding our product development
efforts and our ability to expand our renal product offerings, as
well as other non-historical statements about our expectations,
beliefs or intentions regarding our business, technologies and
products, financial condition, strategies or prospects. Many
factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ
materially from the activities and results anticipated in
forward-looking statements. These factors include those described
in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well
as the risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining
regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and competitive
products and treatments. In addition, forward-looking statements
may also be adversely affected by general market factors,
competitive product development, product availability, federal and
state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new
products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise,
patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date the statements were made, and we do not
undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We
intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the
safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
Contacts:
OPKO Health, Inc.
David Malina, 305-575-4137Investor Relations
or
Media
Rooney Partners
Terry Rooney, 212-223-0689trooney@rooneyco.com
or
Marion Janic, 212-223-4017mjanic@rooneyco.com
or
Investors
LHA
Anne Marie Fields, 212-838-3777afields@lhai.com
or
Bruce Voss, 310-691-7100bvoss@lhai.com
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