Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ: LQDA) today announced Damian deGoa
has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a director
of the Company, effective immediately. He succeeds Neal F. Fowler
who has retired as CEO and a director of the Company. Mr. Fowler
has agreed to provide assistance to the Company for a short period
of time to support a smooth transition.
“Damian is a strategic and proven leader in the healthcare
industry, having led several companies in various stages of
operations, most notably as Chief Executive Officer of RareGen from
its formation in Summer 2018 through its acquisition by Liquidia in
November 2020,” said Dr. Stephen Bloch, Chairman of the Company’s
Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to welcome Damian’s wealth of
experience in the pulmonary arterial hypertension industry during
this important time in Liquidia’s history, having just acquired
RareGen and as the Company works with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to address the items in the Complete Response Letter
for LIQ861’s New Drug Application to support the drug’s
approval.”
“We are extremely appreciative of Neal’s contributions to
Liquidia as our Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the
Board of Directors during his accomplished tenure,” said Dr. Seth
Rudnick, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. “Neal
successfully led the transformation of the Company from a private
early-stage clinical pharmaceutical company in early 2008 and we
wish him every success in his future endeavors.”
Mr. deGoa joins Liquidia with an extensive background in
business strategy and the commercialization of treprostinil for the
treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Prior to Liquidia, Mr. deGoa served as the Chief Executive Officer
of RareGen, LLC (“RareGen”) from September 2018 until RareGen’s
acquisition by Liquidia in November 2020. Prior to September 2018,
Mr. deGoa was the Managing Director of PBM Capital Group where he
led several portfolio investments, divestments and operations. From
April 2015 to April 2017, Mr. deGoa served as Chief Executive
Officer of Breas Medical Group, a PBM Capital portfolio company
which was acquired by Fosun Pharma in March 2017, and subsequently
served as a director of Breas Medical Group from March 2017 to
February 2020. Prior to joining PBM Capital Group, Mr. deGoa held
various roles at Perrigo Company from August 2007 until December
2012, including Head of International Business Development,
Divisional Finance Lead for Perrigo Company’s nutrition segment and
Director of Corporate Development and Rx Business Development.
“I am excited to join Liquidia during this critical time in the
Company’s history. The convenience, ease-of-use, and portability of
LIQ861 would be meaningful for the PAH community, and it is our
priority to respond fully and promptly to the FDA’s CRL. We will
continue to build the parenteral treprostinil business that was
acquired from RareGen and look for value creating opportunities
with our PRINT technology and pipeline,” said Damian deGoa, Chief
Executive Officer of Liquidia Corporation. “I want to thank Neal
for his steady-hand and leadership. His contributions have helped
build the foundation for the Company. I wish him well in his
retirement.”
Mr. deGoa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy
from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Business
Administration in Finance from DePaul University.
In connection with Mr. deGoa’s appointment as Chief Executive
Officer, Mr. deGoa was granted a nonstatutory stock option to
purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock,
$0.001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), having an exercise
price per share equal to the closing price of the Common Stock on
the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on December 14, 2020 (the “Option”).
The Option was granted outside of the Company’s 2020 Long-Term
Incentive Plan as an inducement material to his acceptance of
employment with the Company. The Option contains the following
vesting terms: 25% of the shares of Common Stock underlying the
Option will vest on December 14, 2021 and the remainder will vest
in equal monthly installments thereafter subject to Mr. deGoa’s
continuous service to Liquidia through the applicable vesting date,
becoming fully vested on December 14, 2024; provided, however,
that, notwithstanding the foregoing vesting schedule, (i) 25% of
the then-unvested shares of Common Stock underlying the Option will
vest upon the achievement of a certain regulatory milestone and
(ii) 25% of the then-unvested shares of Common Stock underlying the
Option will vest upon the achievement of a certain commercial
milestone; provided, further, that upon a change in control (as
defined in the accompanying Nonstatutory Stock Option Agreement)
100% of the unvested portion of the Option shall become vested and
exercisable as of the date of the change in control provided that
Mr. deGoa is actively employed by Liquidia on such date.
Additionally, in the event Mr. deGoa is terminated by Liquidia
without “Cause” or Mr. deGoa terminates his employment for “Good
Reason” (as such terms are defined in Mr. deGoa’s employment
agreement with Liquidia), the number of shares of Common Stock
subject to the Option that would have vested during the 12-month
severance period shall vest as if Mr. deGoa was actively employed
by Liquidia during such period. The Option was approved by the
Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors in
compliance with and in reliance on Nasdaq Listing Rule
5635(c)(4).
About Liquidia CorporationLiquidia
Corporation operates through the company’s subsidiaries, Liquidia
Technologies, Inc. and RareGen. The Company, through Liquidia
Technologies, Inc., is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of
products using its PRINT technology. It is focused on developing
two product candidates: LIQ861, an inhaled dry powder formulation
of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial
hypertension (PAH), and LIQ865, an injectable, sustained-release
formulation of bupivacaine for the management of local
post-operative pain for three to five days after a procedure.
RareGen provides commercialization for rare disease pharmaceutical
products, such as Sandoz Inc.’s generic treprostinil for PAH.
Liquidia Corporation is headquartered in Research
Triangle Park, NC. For more information, please
visit www.liquidia.com.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release may include forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release
other than statements of historical facts, including statements
regarding our future results of operations and financial position,
our strategic and financial initiatives, our business strategy and
plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements, including statements
regarding clinical trials, clinical studies and other clinical work
(including the funding therefor, anticipated patient enrollment,
safety data, study data, trial outcomes, timing or associated
costs), regulatory applications and related anticipated submission
contents and timelines, including potential resubmission of
the NDA following our receipt of a Complete Response Letter (CRL)
in November 2020, the potential for eventual FDA approval of
the NDA for LIQ861, the timeline or outcome related to our patent
litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District
of Delaware or its inter partes review with the
Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), the issuance of patents by
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and our ability to
execute on our strategic or financial initiatives, involve
significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ
materially from those expressed or implied herein. The words
“anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,”
“should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these
forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and
projections about future events and financial trends that we
believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations,
business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and
objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements
are subject to a number of risks discussed in Liquidia’s filings
with the SEC, including the impact of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) outbreak on our company and our financial condition and
results of operations, the ability of Liquidia and RareGen to
integrate their businesses successfully and to achieve anticipated
cost savings and other synergies, the possibility that other
anticipated benefits of the completed merger transaction between
Liquidia and RareGen will not be realized, including without
limitation, anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings and other
financial results, and growth and expansion of the new combined
company’s operations, and the anticipated tax treatment, as well as
a number of uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in
a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and our
industry has inherent risks. New risks emerge from time to time. It
is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we
assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to
which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, the future events discussed in this
press release may not occur and actual results could differ
materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Nothing in this press release should be
regarded as a representation by any person that these goals will be
achieved, and we undertake no duty to update our goals or to update
or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information
Media:Michael ParksCorporate
Communications484.356.7105michael.parks@liquidia.com
Investors:Jason AdairVice President, Corporate
Development and
Strategy919.328.4400jason.adair@liquidia.com
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