- PathoGenetix President & CEO Ann Merrifield Appointed New Board Member -
- Flexion CEO Michael Clayman Offers Thanks to Departing Board Members Bradley Bolzon and Elaine Jones -
BURLINGTON, Mass., June 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flexion Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:FLXN) announced today recent changes to its Board of Directors. Ann Merrifield, President and CEO of PathoGenetix, Inc., has been appointed to the Board, effective June 11, 2014. In addition, Flexion Board of Directors members Bradley Bolzon, Ph.D., Versant Ventures, and Elaine Jones, Ph.D., Pfizer Venture Investments, are stepping down from the Board effective immediately.
"We thank Brad and Elaine for their years of service and many contributions to Flexion Therapeutics," said Michael Clayman, M.D., President and CEO. "Both have played critical roles in the success of Flexion to date, have been committed Board members and have been consistently wonderful to work with. Brad and Elaine will be sincerely missed."
Dr. Bolzon has served on the Board of Directors since the company's inception in 2007, while Dr. Jones joined the Flexion Board in January 2010.
"At the same time, Ann joining the Board comes at a perfect time for our company, given her success in commercializing intra-articular products for osteoarthritis. We are excited to welcome her to our Board," said Dr. Clayman.
Ms. Merrifield joined PathoGenetix in 2012 to lead commercialization of the company's proprietary Genome Sequence ScanningTM technology. She previously served an 18-year tenure at Genzyme Corporation. As President of Genzyme Biosurgery, she led global business strategy across a complex portfolio of products, including Synvisc, the market-leading intra-articular hyaluronic acid product. Prior to Genzyme, Ms. Merrifield was a Partner at Bain and Company, a global strategy consulting firm, and an Investment Officer at Aetna Life & Casualty. She serves as Trustee and Director on several boards including Partners Continuing Care, the non-acute care services division of Partners HealthCare; the YMCA of Greater Boston; and MassMutual Premier, Select and MML Series Investment Funds. Ms. Merrifield earned a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology and a Master of Education from The University of Maine, and a Master of Business Administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
"As Flexion continues to advance the Phase 2 program for its lead product candidate, it's a great time for me to join the Board of Directors. I look forward to helping the company prepare for its next phase of growth," said Ms. Merrifield.
About Flexion Therapeutics
Flexion is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel pain therapies. The company is currently advancing a portfolio of injectable drug candidates that have the potential to provide better and more persistent analgesia compared with existing therapy. The company's lead program, FX006, is an intra-articular sustained release steroid in development for patients with moderate to severe OA pain. The company also has two additional product candidates, FX007, a locally administered TrkA receptor antagonist for post-operative pain, and FX005, an intra-articular, sustained-release p38 MAP kinase inhibitor for end-stage OA patients.