WALTHAM, Mass., June 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAG) today announced two appointments to its senior management team. Julie Krop, M.D., has joined the company as chief medical officer and senior vice president, clinical development and regulatory affairs, and Audrey Wu as vice president of commercial strategy and marketing for the company's maternal health business.
"We are thrilled to have Julie and Audrey join the AMAG team at this important juncture of the company's growth," said William Heiden, chief executive officer of AMAG. "Julie's extensive experience in large pharma and biotech, as well as with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will play a key role within the company as we continue to expand our product portfolio and execute on lifecycle management plans for our currently marketed products."
"Audrey's deep knowledge of Makena and our maternal health business, combined with more than a decade of experience developing and implementing strategic product planning, brand-building and advocacy efforts for pharmaceutical companies, makes her uniquely qualified for this new role within our organization," Mr. Heiden added.
Dr. Krop brings more than 15 years of experience in drug development, working with clinical teams in the strategic design and execution of development plans, and leading the preparation and participation in pre-approval FDA advisory panel presentations and discussions. In addition, she has worked with the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to obtain drug approvals in the U.S. and Europe. She joins AMAG from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she most recently served as vice president, clinical development. Dr. Krop began her career in clinical research in 1991 at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and has since held various leadership positions at Stryker Regenerative Medicine, Peptimmune, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Krop received her bachelor's degree from Brown University and her medical degree from the Brown University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital and a fellowship in the Department of Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Krop was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.
Ms. Wu has 13 years of dedicated industry experience in both new and commercialized product planning, including marketing management, corporate rebuilding and rebranding, and public affairs and advocacy. She has been a marketing strategy consultant for the past two years, partnering with clients in women's health, virology, and pulmonology to develop and implement market-winning brand and therapeutic area strategies. Prior to that, Ms. Wu led the marketing team at Ther-Rx (a predecessor company to Lumara Health, which AMAG acquired in November 2014). Ms. Wu received a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master's of business administration from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Inducement Equity Awards
In connection with Dr. Krop and Ms. Wu entering into employment with AMAG, Dr. Krop and Ms. Wu will be granted (i) an option to purchase 30,000 and 9,000 shares of common stock, respectively, and (ii) 22,000 and 2,500 restricted stock units, respectively. These options will have an exercise price equal to the closing price of AMAG's common stock on the grant date and will be exercisable in four equal annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date. The options will have a ten-year term and be subject to the terms and conditions of the stock option agreements pursuant to which the options will be granted. The restricted stock units will vest in three equal annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the grant date and will be subject to the restricted stock unit agreements pursuant to which the restricted stock units will be granted. These equity awards will be granted without stockholder approval as inducements material to Dr. Krop and Ms. Wu entering into employment with AMAG in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
About AMAG
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus on maternal health, anemia and cancer supportive care. The primary goal of AMAG is to bring to market therapies that provide clear benefits and improve patients' lives. In addition to continuing to pursue opportunities to make new advancements in patients' health and to enhance treatment accessibility, AMAG intends to continue to expand and diversify its portfolio through the in-license or purchase of additional pharmaceutical products or companies. For additional company information, please visit www.amagpharma.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Any statements contained herein which do not describe historical facts, including but not limited to statements regarding the contributions and responsibilities of each of Dr. Krop and Ms. Wu and our plans to expand our product portfolio and execute on lifecycle management plans for our currently marketed products are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, our ability to successfully implement Makena's lifecycle management program, including to effectively respond to the FDA's May 2015 complete response letter regarding our manufacturing supplement seeking approval for a single-dose vial of Makena by, among other things, providing the additional information requested by the FDA regarding manufacturing procedures and methods used to control the microbiological environment in which the product is produced and the sterilization of equipment used in production; the impact of our response to the FDA's request that we consider changing the color combination on the container label and carton labelling to provide more optimal readability; our ability to implement the commercial launch of the new single-dose vials of Makena, including on the anticipated timeline; the impact of perceptions related to pricing and access on Makena's commercial success and growth prospects; our ability to have Makena manufactured in sufficient quantities and at acceptable costs to meet commercial demand and clinical development needs, our ability to attract and retain key employees, and the resulting disruptions to our operations if we fail to do so and such other risks identified in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.
We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals® is a registered trademark of AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Lumara Health™ is a trademark of Lumara Health Inc.