REDWOOD CITY, Calif.,
Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/
-- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of
acute and breakthrough pain, today announced that David H. Chung has joined the company as chief
commercial officer effective September 2,
2013. Mr. Chung brings over 20 years of
hospital-focused, global medical device and pharmaceutical sales
and marketing experience, most recently as chief commercial officer
at Conceptus, Inc., which was recently acquired by Bayer. Mr.
Chung will provide strategic input to AcelRx and will be
responsible for establishing, developing and leading the Company's
commercial operations.
"David has extensive sales and marketing experience in the
hospital-based products market, and a proven track record of
commercial success," said Richard
King, AcelRx's president and CEO. "We are extremely
excited to welcome David to the AcelRx executive team, and we look
forward to David's leadership in establishing and building a first
class commercial organization to support, if approved, launch of
Zalviso™ for management of moderate to severe acute pain in the
hospital setting."
While at Conceptus, Mr. Chung oversaw the strategic and
day-to-day leadership of a global sales and marketing organization
that consisted of 144 people. Prior to Conceptus, Mr. Chung
served as president and CEO of Mitralis, an early stage
transcatheter mitral valve repair company. Prior to Mitralis,
Mr. Chung held the position of global vice president, commercial
operations, Heart Valve Therapy at Edwards Lifesciences/Baxter
Healthcare, the culmination of 15 years at the company in various
commercial roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to
Baxter, Mr. Chung began his career
at Pfizer in a sales capacity in both the medical device and
pharmaceutical sales arenas. Mr. Chung earned a B.S. in
general engineering from the United States
Military Academy, West Point,
N.Y.
About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of
innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough
pain. AcelRx's lead product candidate, Zalviso™, is designed
to solve the problems associated with post-operative intravenous
patient-controlled analgesia which has been shown to cause harm to
patients following surgery because of the side effects of morphine,
the invasive IV route of delivery and the complexity of infusion
pumps. AcelRx has announced positive results from each of the
three Phase 3 clinical trials for Zalviso and AcelRx anticipates
submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA in the third
quarter of 2013. AcelRx also announced positive top-line
results for a Phase 2 trial for ARX-04, a sufentanil formulation
for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain, funded through
a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
The company has two additional pain treatment product
candidates, ARX-02 and ARX-03, which have completed Phase 2
clinical development. For additional information about AcelRx's
clinical programs, please visit www.acelrx.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to, statements related to the process
and timing of anticipated future clinical development of AcelRx
Pharmaceuticals' product candidates, the potential submission of an
NDA for Zalviso and the timing thereof, therapeutic and commercial
potential of Zalviso and the anticipated timing and therapeutic and
commercial potential of other AcelRx product candidates.
These forward-looking statements are based on AcelRx's
current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and
uncertainties. AcelRx's actual results and the timing of
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and
uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to:
the success, cost and timing of AcelRx's product development
activities and clinical trials; any delays or inability to obtain,
regulatory approval of its product candidates; its ability to
obtain adequate clinical supplies of the drug and device components
of its product candidates; its ability to attract funding partners
or collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization
expertise; its ability to obtain sufficient financing to complete
development and registration of its product candidates in
the United States and Europe; its ability to obtain and maintain
regulatory approvals of its product candidates; the market
potential for its product candidates; the accuracy of AcelRx's
estimates regarding expenses, capital requirements and needs for
financing; and other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere in AcelRx's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
filings and reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the three months ended June 30,
2013, filed August 12, 2013.
AcelRx undertakes no duty or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of
new information, future events or changes in its expectations.
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SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.