SAN DIEGO, May 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Otonomy, Inc. (Nasdaq:OTIC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics for diseases and disorders of the inner and middle ear, today announced the appointment of Eric Loumeau as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Mr. Loumeau has over 23 years of experience as in-house legal counsel and compliance officer for several biopharmaceutical companies and as outside corporate counsel supporting healthcare and technology-based client companies.
"Eric is a welcome addition to the Otonomy team given his legal and senior management experience across a broad range of areas including public company securities filings, financings, collaboration agreements, corporate governance, and attention to general corporate legal matters," said David A. Weber, Ph.D., president and CEO of Otonomy. "I expect that Eric will also make a significant contribution this year in overseeing our corporate compliance efforts as we prepare for the commercial launch of AuriProTM in the first quarter of 2016."
Prior to joining Otonomy, Mr. Loumeau was the vice president of legal affairs at The Medicines Company, which he joined following the company's acquisition of Rempex Pharmaceuticals. At Rempex, Mr. Loumeau served as vice president, chief financial officer and chief compliance officer and in this capacity he was involved in the completion of several asset acquisitions and financings as well as having primary responsibility for corporate compliance. Previously, Mr. Loumeau also served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, a publicly-traded biotechnology company. Mr. Loumeau's experience as outside corporate counsel at national law firms includes roles as a partner at Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, and Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC, partner and associate at Cooley LLP, and an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Mr. Loumeau obtained a juris doctorate from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, including spending his final year at Harvard Law School through the Harvard-Boalt Exchange Program. He obtained a bachelor's degree in finance from Brigham Young University.
About Otonomy
Otonomy is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics for diseases and disorders of the ear. Otonomy's proprietary technology provides sustained exposure of drugs to the middle and inner ear following a single intratympanic injection. Otonomy has three product candidates in development. AuriPro™ is an antibiotic that has completed Phase 3 clinical trials in pediatric patients with middle ear effusion at the time of tympanostomy tube placement surgery, and a New Drug Application for AuriPro in this indication is currently under FDA review. OTO-104 is a steroid that is in the first of two pivotal clinical studies for the treatment of patients with Ménière's disease. OTO-311 is an NMDA receptor antagonist in development as a treatment for tinnitus. For additional information please visit www.otonomy.com.