DUBLIN, Ireland and KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., July 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nabriva Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: NBRV ), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of new medicines to treat serious infections, with a focus on the pleuromutilin class of antibiotics, today announced the appointment of Francesco Maria Lavino as Chief Commercial Officer. He will report to Chief Executive Officer Colin Broom, M.D. and be based out of the company’s U.S. headquarters in King of Prussia, PA.
“Nabriva Therapeutics is on the cusp of a major inflection point, as we work toward the potential approval of the first pleuromutilin antibiotic for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia,” said Dr. Broom. “Francesco has the right experience and leadership qualities to build out a fully integrated commercial team and hospital field force in the United States, and I am delighted to welcome him as part of our team.”
Mr. Lavino joins Nabriva Therapeutics from Merck & Co. Inc., bringing nearly two decades of pharmaceutical sales and marketing experience. The last half of his career has been focused on anti-infective medications administered primarily in the hospital setting. Mr. Lavino joins the company ahead of the conclusion of its Phase 3 global clinical trials for lefamulin, a potential new treatment for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. If lefamulin is approved in the United States, Mr. Lavino will be responsible for enabling doctors to have access and treat those patients who would benefit from lefamulin. Mr. Lavino will be supported by Will Sargent, Vice President, Commercial Strategy. Nabriva owns exclusive, worldwide rights to lefamulin and Mr. Lavino will also support Nabriva’s business development activities to explore potential commercialization opportunities outside the U.S.
“There has been a dearth of innovation in the development of new anti-infective medicines,” said Mr. Lavino. “Nabriva Therapeutics is poised to introduce what is potentially the first new class of antibiotics for systemic human use in nearly two decades. I am looking forward to working with Will, Colin and the rest of the management team to address serious medical needs in lung, skin, and potentially other types of infections.”
Mr. Lavino has held positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co. Inc. (known as MSD outside the United States), most recently serving as AVP, Global Brand Leader Anti-Infective Portfolio responsible for the development and implementation of the global marketing strategy for the entire Merck anti-bacterial portfolio. Prior to this role he was VP International Marketing for the Anti-Infectives Portfolio at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Previous roles at Merck included Executive Director, Global Brand Leader, for the company’s antifungal medicines Cancidas ® (caspofungin acetate) and Noxafil ® (posaconazole) and, before, he held positions both at regional and country level in marketing and sales. Mr. Lavino began his career in pharmaceutical sales at UCB Pharma and 3M in Italy.
About Nabriva Therapeutics plc Nabriva Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of new medicines to treat serious bacterial infections, with a focus on the pleuromutilin class of antibiotics. Nabriva Therapeutics’ medicinal chemistry expertise has enabled targeted discovery of novel pleuromutilins, including both intravenous and oral formulations. Nabriva Therapeutics’ lead product candidate, lefamulin, is a novel semi-synthetic pleuromutilin antibiotic with the potential to be the first-in-class available for systemic administration in humans. The company believes that lefamulin is the first antibiotic with a novel mechanism of action to have reached late-stage clinical development in more than a decade. Lefamulin is currently being evaluated in two global, registrational Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). Nabriva Therapeutics believes lefamulin is well-positioned for use as a first-line empiric monotherapy for the treatment of moderate to severe CABP due to its novel mechanism of action, targeted spectrum of activity, resistance profile, achievement of substantial drug concentration in lung tissue and fluid, oral and IV formulations and a favorable tolerability profile. Nabriva Therapeutics intends to further pursue development of lefamulin for additional indications, including the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), and is developing a formulation of lefamulin appropriate for pediatric use.
Nabriva Therapeutics owns exclusive, worldwide rights to lefamulin, which is protected by composition of matter patents issued in the United States, Europe and Japan.
CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS Dave Garrett Nabriva Therapeutics plc david.garrett@nabriva.com 610-816-6657 MEDIA Benjamin Navon Pure Communications, Inc. bnavon@purecommunications.com 617-337-4166
