Industry Executive Brings Nearly 30 Years of Biopharmaceutical Sales and Commercial Expertise
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / February 2, 2022 / RELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding SA (SIX:RLF)(OTCQB:RLFTF)(OTCQB:RLFTY) ("Relief"), a biopharmaceutical company seeking to provide patients therapeutic relief from serious diseases with high unmet need, today announced that, as approved and reported after its January 28, 2022 extraordinary general meeting, Michelle Lock, Chief Operating Officer of Covis Pharma Group, has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors. The appointment brings Relief's Board to five members.
"Michelle's deep strategic, operational and commercialization experience, at both big Pharma and emerging biotechnology companies, globally, will be an important addition to our Board, especially as we enter our next stage of company growth," stated Raghuram (Ram) Selvaraju, Chairman of Relief. "In particular, we look forward to leveraging Michelle's breadth of expertise and industry relationships garnered from her tenures at Acceleron Pharma, Sage Therapeutics and Bristol-Myers Squibb, as we advance our pipeline including, RLF-100(TM) for acute and chronic lung diseases, the prospective launch of ACER-001 to treat Urea Cycle Disorders later this year, and the expansion of the flagship PKU GOLIKE(R) marketed product line for management of patients with phenylketonuria."
"Relief's suite of commercial stage biopharmaceuticals, along with an impressive product pipeline and highly focused growth strategy, was instrumental in my decision to join the company's Board," noted Ms. Lock. "I am delighted to contribute my insights and experience to Relief to help management achieve its U.S. and international commercialization goals at this pivotal time in the company's history."
Ms. Lock's broad biopharmaceutical industry experience spans nearly 30 years and includes leadership roles in commercialization across various therapeutic areas including oncology, hematology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, liver disease, immunology, virology and neuroscience. Additionally, her experience includes oversight of pre-launch and launch commercial activities in multiple geographies, including the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, Asia, and emerging markets.
Ms. Lock was recently appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Zug, Switzerland-based Covis Pharma Group, a global specialty pharmaceutical company that markets therapeutic solutions for patients with life-threatening conditions and chronic illnesses. Previously, Ms. Lock served as the Senior Vice President and Head of Europe and International at Acceleron Pharma Inc, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Before that, she was a consultant to biotechnology companies, providing leadership, guidance, and strategic support to managements seeking to establish or improve their international businesses based in Switzerland. Earlier, Ms. Lock was Senior Vice President & Head of Europe/International at Sage Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel medicines to transform the lives of patients with life-altering central nervous system (CNS) disorders. During her career, Ms. Lock also spent 24 years with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in positions of increasing responsibility in sales, commercial, general management, regional leadership and business strategy. In her most recent role at BMS, she served as Vice President and General Manager for EU Country Clusters & Global Capabilities Hub leadership, Switzerland, driving the company's leadership efforts in immuno-oncology.
Ms. Lock earned a degree in Science/Nursing at Royal Melbourne University, Australia and studied General Management and Internal General Management at CEDEP, France. She has served as Honorary Ambassador between Switzerland and the U.S. since 2018, as well is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce and the Interpharma Switzerland Pharmaceutical Industry.
ABOUT RELIEF
Relief focuses primarily on clinical-stage programs based on molecules with a history of clinical testing and use in human patients or a strong scientific rationale. Relief's lead drug candidate, RLF-100(TM) (aviptadil), a synthetic form of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP), is in late-stage clinical testing in the U.S. for the treatment of respiratory deficiency due to COVID-19 through Relief's collaboration partner in the U.S., NeuroRx. As part of its pipeline diversification strategy, in March 2021, Relief entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Acer Therapeutics for the worldwide development and commercialization of ACER-001. ACER-001 is a taste-masked and immediate release proprietary powder formulation of sodium phenylbutyrate (NaPB) for the treatment of Urea Cycle Disorders and Maple Syrup Urine Disease. Finally, Relief's recently completed acquisitions of APR Applied Pharma Research SA and AdVita Lifescience GmbH, bring to Relief a diverse pipeline of marketed and development-stage programs.
RELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding SA is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol RLF and quoted in the U.S. on OTCQB under the symbols RLFTF and RLFTY. For more information, visit www.relieftherapeutics.com.
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SOURCE: Relief Therapeutics Holdings AG