Somnus Therapeutics, Inc. (“Somnus”), a private specialty pharmaceutical company developing a controlled-release drug as a sleep-maintenance therapeutic to treat insomnia, today announced the initial four members of its board of directors:
— Gary Cupit, PharmD, chief executive officer of Somnus;
— Linda C. Hogan, MS, MBA, chief business officer at Somnus and executive in residence at Care Capital LLC;
— David Ramsay, MBA, partner at Care Capital LLC, and
— Jack W. Britts, president and CEO of Merz Pharmaceuticals USA.
“Jack Britts has joined the board as our first independent director. His experience launching several of the top ten pharmaceuticals — including one of the world’s most successful products to treat insomnia — will be invaluable as we move through development of SKP-1041,” said Gary Cupit. “We expect to add additional directors as we advance through clinical development.”
Gary Cupit’s pharmaceutical industry experience also includes many product launches (e.g., Tagamet(R), Androderm(R) and Hycamtin(R)). Prior positions include president of Enzo Therapeutics, Inc.; president and CEO of specialty pharmaceutical company Sapphire Therapeutics, Inc.; global business development and licensing at Novartis, Knoll Pharmaceutical, and The Medicines Company; and sales, product management and new product development at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, his academic and consulting experience in clinical pharmacy included faculty positions at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee, Memphis.
As executive in residence at Care Capital, Linda Hogan assists in the evaluation of investment opportunities and supports the formation of new companies. She was previously vice president and US group head for global business development at Aventis (now Sanofi-Aventis) and held various positions in strategic planning and finance and R&D as well as business development. She has also served various faculty appointments at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy and Kansas University Medical Center and is currently on the School of Pharmacy’s Advisory Council.
Jack Britts brings to the Somnus board more than 20 years executive experience at US and international pharmaceutical companies, including launches of several top-ten prescription drugs. Previous positions include group vice president, marketing and commercial planning at Sepracor, Inc., where, among other product development activities, he was responsible for the commercialization of LUNESTA(R); and vice president, GI therapeutic area leader at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, where he led development of the US clinical, regulatory and commercial strategy for lifecycle management of the PPI portfolio, including Prilosec(R) and Nexium(R).
About Somnus Therapeutics
Somnus was founded in 2007 by Gary Cupit along with Care Capital, a life sciences venture capital firm based in Princeton, New Jersey. In June 2007, Somnus entered into an exclusive agreement with SkyePharma PLC for the worldwide development and commercialization of its sleep therapeutic, SKP-1041. Under the agreement, SkyePharma will formulate and manufacture SKP-1041, a new controlled-release formulation of a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic agent, using SkyePharma’s Geoclock(TM) technology.
For more information please visit the Somnus web site at www.somnusthera.com.
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