– USA, CT – Melinta Therapeutics, Inc., (NASDAQ:MLNT), a commercial-stage company discovering, developing and commercializing novel antibiotics to treat serious bacterial infections, announced today that its board of directors has appointed John H. Johnson as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. Mr. Johnson, a director of Melinta, succeeds Dan Wechsler, who is stepping down from his role as president, CEO and director to pursue other opportunities. The Board and Mr. Wechsler mutually agreed that now is the right time to transition leadership of the Company.
“John is an accomplished biopharmaceutical industry leader with more than 20 years of direct expertise in the antibiotics space, and we are pleased that he is leading Melinta during this pivotal time. Under John’s leadership, we are confident that sales of commercial products, Baxdela (delafloxacin), Vabomere (meropenem and vaborbactam), Orbactiv (oritavancin), and Minocin (minocycline) for Injection, will continue to accelerate, and that he will focus on strengthening the financial position of Melinta by optimizing the integrations of the infectious disease business of The Medicines Company and Cempra,” said Kevin Ferro, chairman of Melinta Therapeutics.
“I am pleased to serve as interim CEO of Melinta and will continue to work closely with the board of directors, executive management and the broader team to further advance the Company’s mission to provide life-saving therapeutic solutions that address the evolving global threat of bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance. This is an exciting time for Melinta and I look forward to contributing to the continued growth and future success of the Company by delivering anti-infective solutions to patients,” said John H. Johnson, interim chief executive officer and director of Melinta Therapeutics.
Mr. Ferro added, “On behalf of the board of directors, we would like to thank Dan for his contributions to the Company and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
About John H. Johnson
John H. Johnson has more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry, executive leadership and commercial experience at leading global organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly & Company, ImClone and Pfizer, Inc. In addition to Melinta, Mr. Johnson currently serves on the boards of Aveo Oncology, Histogenics Corporation, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and is chairman of Strongbridge Biopharma plc. Mr. Johnson previously served as a director at Cempra and Sucampo. He also previously served as president and chief executive officer of Dendreon Corporation from February 2012, became chairman in July 2013, and served as chairman until June 2014 and president and chief executive officer until August 2014. Prior to this role, Mr. Johnson served as president of Eli Lilly & Company’s Global Oncology Unit following the company’s 2008 acquisition of ImClone Systems Incorporated, where he served as chief executive officer and on ImClone’s board. Prior to ImClone, Mr. Johnson served as the company group chairman of biopharmaceuticals within Johnson & Johnson, where he was responsible for biotechnology, immunology and oncology commercial business units. Prior to that role, he held several executive positions at Johnson & Johnson, Parkstone Medical Information Systems, Inc., Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Corporation and Pfizer Inc. While at Ortho-McNeil, Mr. Johnson was responsible for the company’s anti-infectives portfolio. During his career, Mr. Johnson also served as a member of the board of directors of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Health Section Governing Board of Biotechnology Industry Organizations, and BioNJ.
About Melinta Therapeutics
Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. is the largest pure-play antibiotics company, dedicated to saving lives threatened by the global public health crisis of bacterial infections through the development and commercialization of novel antibiotics that provide new therapeutic solutions. Its four marketed products include Baxdela (delafloxacin), Vabomere (meropenem and vaborbactam), Orbactiv (oritavancin), and Minocin (minocycline) for Injection. It also has an extensive pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage products representing many important classes of antibiotics, each targeted at a different segment of the anti-infective market. Together, this portfolio provides Melinta with the unique ability to provide providers and patients with a range of solutions that can meet the tremendous need for novel antibiotics treating serious infections.
For more information : http://www.melinta.com
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