The Female Health Company / Veru Healthcare Appoin

MIAMI, Jan. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Female Health Company / Veru Healthcare (NASDAQ: FHCO ) today announced the appointment of Brian J. Groch as Chief Commercial Officer, effective January 1, 2017.  He will report to Mitchell Steiner, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Female Health Company / Veru Healthcare.

Groch will be responsible for all sales and marketing activities of the Company, with the goal of coordinating prelaunch, launch, and sales and marketing activities to gain market share and drive business growth.  He will develop, implement and manage the prescription products infrastructure for the overall commercial organization, including reimbursement, market access, payer policies, sales and marketing, inventory and distribution, trade, and customer service. 

“Brian brings an extensive commercial background, having served in senior leadership positions for some of the best known and highly regarded companies in our industry,” said Dr. Steiner.  “He has deep experience across multiple therapeutic areas, such as oncology, urology, neurology and cardiology, among others, and an outstanding record of success developing and executing global marketing strategies, generating brand awareness and launching new products.  In his new role as chief commercial officer, he will oversee all aspects of sales and marketing.  The initial focus for his team will be to establish the FC2 prescription business infrastructure to produce new and immediate revenue in the US, to coordinate the prelaunch and launch activities for Tamsulosin DRS (Tamsulosin HCl extended release for oral suspension) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and manage the marketing and sales activities for PREBOOST ^® , our recently launched proprietary over the counter (OTC) product for the management of premature ejaculation.  We are pleased to welcome Brian and look forward to having his strategic commercial leadership strengthen our management team.”

Groch has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries specializing in lobbying health policy change, global sales leadership, marketing, trade and distribution, contract negotiations, presentations and client/patient relations.  He has commercial expertise in a range of therapeutic areas, which includes Oncology, Urology, Immunology, Neurology, Rare & Ultra-Rare Disease, Cardiology, Osteoporosis and Ophthalmology.  Groch most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Telesta Therapeutics overseeing the global commercial strategy for the first new biologic for bladder cancer.  He began his career at Merck & Co., where he rose through the sales and marketing ranks from 1988 to 2002 and was part of the product launches and promotion for ZOCOR ^® , PRILOSEC ^® , PLENDIL ^® , COZAAR ^® , HYZAAR ^® , TRUSOPT ^® , FOSAMAX ^® , MAXALT ^® and PROSCAR ^® (a drug to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia).  Later, as Regional Sales Director and then Director of Health Policy for Oncology, Osteoporosis, and Ophthalmology products for Novartis, he was involved with the launches of ZADITOR ^® and VISUDYNE ^® .  He then became the Head of Market Access for Dendreon, a biotech company that developed and launched PROVENGE ^® for metastatic prostate cancer in 2010.  In 2013, he was appointed Vice President Market Access for Horizon Therapeutics, where he played a key role in building the company’s orphan commercial business capabilities.

Groch earned a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Administration and Marketing and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology from Central Michigan University.

About The Female Health Company / Veru Healthcare The Female Health Company / Veru Healthcare is a medical therapeutics company, with a focus on the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals that qualify for the FDA's 505(b)(2) accelerated regulatory approval pathway as well as the 505(b)(1) pathway.  The Company does business both as "Veru Healthcare" and as "The Female Health Company" and is organized as follows:

• Veru Healthcare manages the Pharmaceuticals Division, which develops and commercializes pharmaceutical products for men's and women's health and oncology.  
• Veru Healthcare manages the Consumer Health / Medical Devices Division, which is focused on commercializing sexual healthcare products and devices for the consumer market, including the Company's Female Condom (FC2), which is referred to as the FC2 Female Condom ^® in the consumer health products sector and as the Female Disposable Contraceptive Device (FC2) in the U.S. prescription market, and PREBOOST ^® medicated individual wipes which is a male genital desensitizing drug product that helps in the prevention of premature ejaculation.  
• The Female Health Company manages the Global Public Health Division, which is focused on the global public health sector FC2 business.  This division markets the Company’s Female Condom (FC2) to entities, including ministries of health, government health agencies, U.N. agencies, nonprofit organizations and commercial partners, that work to support and improve the lives, health and well-being of women around the world.

More information about the Female Health Company and its products can be found at www.femalehealth.com , www.veruhealthcare.com and www.femalecondom.org .  For corporate and investor-related information about the Company, please visit www.FHCinvestor.com .

Contact: Kevin Gilbert 312-366-2633