NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 9, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The Board of Directors of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (d/b/a Biohaven) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Engelhart, CPA as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Engelhart joins Biohaven from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Alexion) where he was an Executive Director providing financial leadership in the North America and Latin America Regions, including financial and commercial support for the launch of two orphan drug indications. Mr. Engelhart has over 17 years of financial leadership experience in global pharmaceutical business units at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Schering-Plough and Alexion.
Mr. Engelhart brings to Biohaven an extensive professional background that spans R&D finance, commercial strategy, accounting and internal controls, corporate financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, and commercial operations. Mr. Engelhart's business experience also includes 2 overseas management assignments as well as financial and operational leadership in business integrations, restructurings and acquisitions. In addition to his leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Engelhart has held roles of increasing responsibility at Energizer Holdings, and Coopers and Lybrand. He has a total of 30 years of corporate finance experience.
Mr. Engelhart will provide strategic leadership for Biohaven's finance organization, commercial finance strategy, equity capitalization, and establish the company's internal controls and business processes. In this role as CFO, Mr. Engelhart will be a key member of Biohaven's executive leadership team.
"We are fortunate to bring Jim's corporate finance and leadership experience to Biohaven as we anticipate our R&D activities expanding from research trials to patients in the clinic," said Vlad Coric, MD, Chief Executive Officer at Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. "Jim is a proven leader with established life-sciences expertise in three publically traded pharmaceutical companies – Bristol-Myers Squibb, Schering-Plough and Alexion. His strong knowledge of finance in the biopharmaceutical industry will be an asset to our management team and long-term financial strategy." Dr. Coric added, "We are excited and fortunate to have Jim join our executive leadership team and assume responsibility for the company's corporate finance activities."
"I am thrilled to be joining Biohaven at this early stage as the company is poised for significant growth in the coming years. I've been very fortunate in my career to have enjoyed so many diverse financial roles and experiences, and I look forward to applying these experiences at Biohaven. I look forward to working with the leadership team in securing financing to support R&D and commercialization activities as well as developing and executing on corporate strategies," said Jim Engelhart, Biohaven Chief Financial Officer.
Declan Doogan M.D., Chairman of Biohaven's Board of Directors, added, "Jim is a welcome addition to the Executive Leadership Team. The company is growing at a fast pace and dealing with increasingly complex financial matters that will be well served by Jim's experience. He has played important leadership roles in the finance support of global launches, international business units and R&D financing at major biopharmaceutical companies. Jim will be responsible for leading and executing our corporate finance strategy supporting our efforts to bring new medicines to patients as quickly as possible. Biohaven is preparing for the potential for near term commercialization upon successful completion of its clinical stage assets."
Mr. Engelhart is a graduate of Villanova University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant.
About Biohaven
Biohaven is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the identification and development of clinical stage compounds targeting the glutamatergic system and other neurological pathways. Biohaven has licensed intellectual property from Yale University, Catalent and Massachusetts General Hospital. Biohaven is owned by a group of investors including Portage Biotech Inc. (OTC Market: PTGEF, Canadian Securities Exchange: PBT.U), Yale University and other private investors. The company's first drug candidate, BHV-0223, is a novel formulation of a glutamate-modulating agent, being developed under FDA 505(b)(2) guidelines. The FDA cleared the company's Investigational New Drug application (IND) in August 2015. Biohaven has completed a PK study in humans and planning to launch a pivotal bioequivalence study by 4Q2016. Biohaven's second compound, BHV-4157, a prodrug form of a glutamate modulating agent, is being developed as a New Chemical Entity (NCE). The company plans to advance other glutamatergic approaches and is actively exploring licenses for additional compounds.
For further information, contact Dr. Vladimir Coric, the Chief Executive Officer at vlad.coric(at)biohavenpharma.com
+1 203-314-5352
Forward-Looking Statements
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