Theratechnologies Announces Two Strategic Hires to Support its Commercial and Pipeline Assets
Theratechnologies has announced the appointment of John Leasure as Global Commercial Officer and Peter Kowal as Vice President, HIV-U.S. Commercial Operations, effective March 29, 2021. Both professionals bring extensive experience in their respective fields, particularly in HIV and oncology. Leasure aims to enhance global capabilities and growth within the company, while Kowal will focus on sales and reimbursement strategies. These additions are expected to support the development of both commercial assets and the company's pipeline, as noted by CEO Paul Lévesque.
- Appointment of experienced professionals expected to drive company growth.
- John Leasure's previous success in launching over 10 new oncology products will contribute positively.
- Peter Kowal brings significant expertise in HIV, enhancing the company's U.S. operations.
- No direct financial metrics provided, leaving uncertainty about the immediate impact.
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MONTREAL, March 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Theratechnologies Inc. (Theratechnologies, or the Company (on a consolidated basis)) (TSX: TH) (NASDAQ: THTX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies, is pleased to announce the addition of two new senior resources to support the growth and development of its commercial and pipeline assets. Effective today, Theratechnologies is pleased to welcome Mr. John Leasure as Global Commercial Officer and Mr. Peter Kowal as Vice President, HIV-U.S. Commercial Operations.
“Both John and Peter bring important capabilities that are needed to bring Theratechnologies to our next stage of growth. I am very pleased that we were able to attract such talented and experienced individuals with expertise across HIV, endocrinology, and oncology. I look forward to their contributions toward the growth of our commercial assets and the development of our pipeline. On behalf of the entire team at Theratechnologies, I want to extend the warmest welcome to our new colleagues,” said Paul Lévesque, President and Chief Executive Officer, Theratechnologies.
Mr. Leasure spent 30 years at Pfizer in the United States and Canada where he held increasingly senior functions in the Anti-infectives, Inflammation Immunology and Oncology businesses. Most recently, Mr. Leasure led Pfizer’s Oncology business unit in Canada where, under his leadership, the business experienced unprecedented growth and launched over 10 new products. In his new function, Mr. Leasure will oversee Theratechnologies’ HIV-U.S. business and will also develop global capabilities in Marketing, Pricing & Reimbursement, Analytics, Manufacturing, Sourcing and Drug Development as well as New Project Planning. These functional areas will support both the Company’s U.S. and European operations and serve to enhance the Company’s global business efficiencies. Mr. Leasure holds a B.A. in Management from Gettysburg College. He will report directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Theratechnologies, Mr. Paul Lévesque, and will be based in the United States.
Mr. Kowal has spent 23 years in various pharmaceutical sales and marketing positions, specializing in the areas of HIV and endocrinology. Most recently, he was U.S. Head, Sales, Marketing, Strategy and Operations at Merck KGaA-EMD Serono, Inc. Mr. Kowal brings significant expertise to the Company’s HIV-U.S. business and will oversee sales, access and reimbursement efforts, while working very closely with marketing to ensure an optimal deployment of resources. Mr. Kowal holds a Master of Education from Temple University and a B.Sc. in Biology from Ithaca College. Mr. Kowal will report to John Leasure and will be based in the United States.
About Theratechnologies
Theratechnologies (TSX: TH) (NASDAQ: THTX) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies addressing unmet medical needs. Further information about Theratechnologies is available on the Company's website at www.theratech.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, or, collectively, forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. You can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "could", “would”, "outlook", "believe", "plan", "envisage", "anticipate", "expect" and "estimate", or the negatives of these terms, or variations of them. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the growth of Theratechnologies and the development of its pipeline.
Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions and include, but are not limited to, the following: sales of our products in the United States will increase over time, our products will not be subject to recalls, no unknown side effects will be discovered from the long-term use of our products, our products will continue to be reimbursed by third-party payors, pre-clinical in vivo results obtained with TH1902 will be replicated in humans during the Phase 1 trial, we will be able to determine the maximum tolerated dose of TH1902 in the Phase 1, treatment with TH1902 will be efficacious and safe in various types of cancer, we will be able to enroll patients to complete our Phase 1 trial using TH1902, we will meet our announced timelines, including those related to the beginning of our Phase 3 trial using tesamorelin for NASH and we will have the funds necessary to carry out our business plan.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that the current Covid-19 pandemic forces us to adversely amend our previously announced timelines because, among other factors, of safety measures implemented in the United States and in Europe, employees’ illness and shortage of products or materials, that the sales of our products decrease over time, that we are subject to product recalls, that adverse safety issues are discovered from the long-term use of our products, that we are found to be in violation of laws and regulation governing the commercialization of products resulting in the payment of fines or other penalties, that our intellectual property on our products is challenged and found to be invalid, that we are unable to replicate pre-clinical in vivo results obtained with TH1902 when administered into humans, that we are unable to enroll patients for our proposed clinical trials and that we do not have the funds necessary to complete our planned clinical trial.
We refer potential investors to the "Risk Factors" section of our annual information form dated February 24, 2021 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov as an exhibit to our report on Form 40-F dated February 25, 2021 under Theratechnologies’ public filings for additional risks regarding the conduct of our business and Theratechnologies. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other risks and uncertainties carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and speak only as of the date of this press release and represent our expectations as of that date.
We undertake no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.
For media inquiries:
Denis Boucher
Vice President, Communications and Corporate Affairs
514-336-7800
communications@theratech.com
For investor inquiries:
Leah Gibson
Senior Director, Investor Relations
617-356-1009
ir@theratech.com
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