NLTX News Nile Therapeutics Promotes Darlene Ho

SAN MATEO, Calif. , Aug. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nile Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapeutics for heart failure patients, today announced that it has promoted Darlene Horton , M.D. to President and Chief Executive Officer, and appointed her as a director of the Company.

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"We are pleased Dr. Horton has agreed to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer," said Richard Brewer , Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nile. "We believe Dr. Horton's knowledge and experience in the heart failure space will help Nile to realize the full value of the cenderitide post-acute program."

"I am excited to assume the leadership role at Nile," said Darlene Horton , M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Nile. "I am particularly compelled by cenderitide's potential to fundamentally change how we treat heart failure patients following an acute event. I believe the dual receptor activating properties of cenderitide, combined with proven out-patient, subcutaneous delivery technology, provides a unique opportunity to potentially reduce re-hospitalizations and improve the quality of life for these patients."

Dr. Horton served as Nile's Chief Medical Officer from June 2012 until her appointment as its CEO. Previously, she served as Chief Medical Officer of Itero Biopharmaceuticals, a venture-backed biosimilar company. As a co-founder of Itero, she helped raise $17 million in capital and lead the development team. The product was successfully out-licensed to Watson Pharmaceuticals. Previous to Itero, Dr. Horton served as Senior Vice President, Clinical Research at Scios, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson (J&J) company. During her 12 year tenure at Scios, she was the clinical lead for Natrecor ^® , a commercial product indicated for the treatment of acute heart failure. Dr. Horton led the Natrecor ^® program from late-stage development through FDA approval and commercialization, and was also part of the senior management team at the time of Scios's $2.4 billion acquisition by J&J. Dr. Horton also served as the Head of the Cardiovascular Therapeutic Area Center of Excellence for J&J pharmaceutical companies.