Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Announces Leadership Change
December 15 2022 - 5:45PM
Business Wire
President and CEO David A. Cory resigns from
the company effective immediately
Dr. David Apelian named Interim CEO
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eiger” or “the company”)
(Nasdaq: EIGR), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development of innovative therapies for hepatitis
delta virus (HDV) and other serious diseases, and its Board of
Directors today announced that David A. Cory has resigned as
President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of
Directors, effective immediately.
David Apelian, MD, PhD, MBA, Senior Clinical Advisor and member
of the Board of Directors, has been named as interim Chief
Executive Officer and will also continue to serve on the company’s
Board of Directors. The company plans to initiate an executive
search to identify candidates to serve as a permanent CEO.
Dr. Apelian has 23 years of clinical development and regulatory
experience with large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies,
including nearly six years in senior management, advisory and Board
roles at Eiger. He has been serving as a Director since 2017 and in
2018 was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Executive Medical
Officer, responsible for heading the company’s R&D, Medical and
Regulatory Affairs operations. Following his departure from that
position, he has been serving as a Director, Senior Clinical
Advisor and board member at Eiger. Dr. Apelian was also the
founding CEO of BlueSphere Bio. In addition, Dr. Apelian was
Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Achillion
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was responsible for creating
portfolio strategy and managing the company’s clinical development
programs. Earlier in his career, he held senior management
positions at Globelmmune, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Schering
Plough. Dr. Apelian has extensive experience in chronic hepatitis
C, chronic hepatitis B, and rare diseases.
Thomas Dietz, PhD, non-executive Chairman of the Board, said,
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank David Cory for his
contributions as business founder and CEO during his 14-years with
the company. We are optimistic about the future of Eiger and are
pleased to have David Apelian oversee Eiger’s strong and
experienced commercially-focused team and with a promising
late-stage pipeline of multiple FDA Breakthrough Therapy designated
programs during this period. David’s extensive experience and
strong familiarity with Eiger’s business are valuable assets for
the company, and are a reflection of the deep bench of talent at
Eiger that will allow us to continue moving forward for patients.
As part of this transition, Dr. Apelian and the Board intend to
conduct a program prioritization assessment with a focus on
enhancing long-term shareholder value.”
“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead the
experienced management team at Eiger at this important time for the
company,” said Dr. Apelian. “We have a number of promising
opportunities across our commercial and clinical platforms, and I
look forward to partnering with the Board in leading the entire
organization as we evaluate our portfolio of assets to fulfill the
promise of advancing our high-potential drug candidates for
patients with serious diseases and ensuring access to Zokinvy for
patients with Progeria."
Mr. Cory added, “It has been a pleasure seeing the company grow.
I’m proud to have been a part of a great team and look forward to
seeing future successes at Eiger.”
About Eiger
Eiger is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on
the development of innovative therapies for HDV and other serious
rare diseases. The Eiger HDV platform includes two first-in-class
therapies in Phase 3 that target critical host processes involved
in viral replication. All five Eiger rare disease programs have
been granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation.
For additional information about Eiger and its clinical
programs, please visit www.eigerbio.com.
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements
of historical facts, including statements regarding our executive
search to identify candidates to serve as a permanent CEO, our
program prioritization assessment, our ability to enhance long-term
shareholder value, our ability to advance our drug candidates and
provide access to Zokinvy for patients, and our business strategy
and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are our current statements
regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses
or current expectations concerning, among other things, the timing
of our ongoing and planned clinical development; the sufficiency of
our cash, cash equivalents and investments to fund our operations;
the likelihood of identifying qualified CEO candidates; our
capability to provide sufficient quantities of any of our product
candidates to meet anticipated full-scale commercial demands; our
ability to finance, independently or through collaborations, the
continued advancement of our development pipeline; and the
potential for success of any of our products or product candidates.
Various important factors could cause actual results or events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Eiger
makes, including additional applicable risks and uncertainties
described in the "Risk Factors" sections in the Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022 and Eiger's
subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are based on information currently
available to Eiger and speak only as of the date on which they are
made. Eiger does not undertake and specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances
or otherwise.
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Investors and Media: Sylvia Wheeler Wheelhouse Life
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