– UK, Cardiff – Diurnal Group plc (LON: DNL), the specialty pharmaceutical company targeting patient needs in chronic endocrine (hormonal) diseases, today announced the appointment of Anders Härfstrand (M.D., Ph.D.) to its Board as Non-Executive Chairman, alongside Deborah Jorn and Dr. Jean-Michel Cosséry (Ph.D.) joining the Board as Independent Directors, all with immediate effect.
“We are excited to be welcoming three very experienced new members to our Board with significant expertise from across the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in building commercial operations, as we continue to grow our international presence through our approved products for cortisol deficiency,” said CEO, Martin Whitaker.
He added: “We look forward to drawing on the strengthened Board experience as we continue to focus on our vision of becoming a world-leading specialty endocrinology company.”
Concurrently, Sam Williams, who has held the role of Interim Chairman since March 2020, will resume his role as a Non-Executive Director of Diurnal and Board representative of IP Group plc. The Board will now comprise of nine directors, four of whom including the Chairman are Independent Non-Executive Directors, two Non-Executive Directors, and three Executive Directors (CEO, CFO, CSO).
About Anders Härfstrand
Anders Härfstrand is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry with over 30 years of experience and a sustained global track record of success in commercial operations, global marketing management, and product development. He has significant executive leadership experience and has successfully built franchises in multiple therapeutic categories across the US, Japan, and the European Union. As the former Global Head of Endocrine franchises at Pharmacia, Pfizer, and Serono, Anders has considerable endocrinology experience. Anders has also held several CEO positions, including Humabs Biomed, Adama Agro, BBB Therapeutics, and Nitec Pharma during its merger with US-based pharmaceutical company, Horizon. In addition, Anders has substantial board experience across international private and public companies, including Nasdaq-listed Prothena.
Anders Härfstrand said: “I am delighted to join the Board of Diurnal at an exciting time in the Company’s evolution and to build upon the rich and successful history it has in developing endocrine products addressing important clinical needs. Through this clinical expertise, Diurnal has established a solid commercial foundation, and Deborah, Jean-Michel, and I are looking forward to working with the Board and the senior management team as we seek to advance Diurnal’s global growth ambitions.”
Before joining the pharmaceutical industry in 1988, Anders spent nine years lecturing at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, where he earned his MD and Ph.D. in neuropharmacology endocrinology.
About Deborah Jorn
Deborah Jorn is a senior commercial executive with more than 30 years of experience in successfully building the US and global pharmaceutical businesses through designing and implementing innovative marketing strategies across numerous therapeutic areas, including rare diseases. Most recently, Deborah served as EVP of Corporate and Commercial Development at Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals. Before this, Deborah was EVP and Group Company Chair at Bausch Health (formerly Valeant Pharma) where she led the dermatology and gastroenterology businesses. She was Chief Global Marketing Officer at Bausch & Lomb, before its acquisition by Bausch Health, and led the successful launch of several new products and the integration of Ista Pharmaceuticals following its acquisition. Previously, she was Group VP of Women’s Healthcare and Fertility and Allergy and Respiratory at Schering Plough Corporation.
Deborah serves on the board of directors of Viveve Medical and Pharming Group. Deborah holds a BA in Biochemistry from Rutgers University in Biochemistry, and an MBA from New York University.
About Jean-Michel Cosséry
Jean-Michel Cosséry brings over 25 years of global leadership experience as a senior healthcare executive in research, marketing, and commercial roles across the pharmaceutical, biotech, and MedTech sectors. He recently held the position of Non-Executive Director of Kymab before it was acquired by Sanofi in April 2021 and was also Non-Executive Director of Immunocore until its successful Nasdaq IPO in January 2021. Jean-Michel is currently Non-Executive Director at Malin and Exact Therapeutics. In addition, Jean-Michel has held senior leadership roles in marketing, science, and general management for leading pharmaceutical companies, including Eli-Lilly as VP, North American Oncology, as well as Managing Director Northern Europe, and GE Healthcare as the CMO and VP Global Marketing. He has also been Chair of The American Pharmaceutical Group in the UK, as well as a board member of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry.
Jean-Michel holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University), The Netherlands, as well as a PharmD and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry and Neurobiology from University Paris, France.
About Diurnal Group plc
Diurnal Group plc is a European, UK-headquartered, specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing hormone therapeutics to aid lifelong treatment for rare and chronic endocrine conditions, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia, adrenal insufficiency, hypogonadism, and hypothyroidism. Its expertise and innovative research activities focus on circadian-based endocrinology to yield novel product candidates in the rare and chronic endocrine disease arena.
For more information: https://www.diurnal.co.uk/
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