New Haven, CT, Feb. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Melinta Therapeutics today announced that John Temperato has joined Melinta as President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Melinta, John led the sales and managed markets division of Salix Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for growing the company’s revenues from growth from $119 million in 2004 to $2 billion in 2015. He played a critical role at Salix in the successful commercialization and growth of Xifaxan, a non-systemic antibiotic, for hepatic encephalopathy, traveler’s diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome.
“John’s background and strong track record of successful product launches and sales growth, as well as his experience in hospital and market-access will be critical to us as we transition from a development-stage to a commercial-stage specialty pharma company,” commented Dr. Eugene Sun, Melinta’s interim Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Research and Development.
During his tenure at Salix, John was instrumental in defining the company’s business development strategy; oversaw the commercialization and life-cycle management for small molecules, devices, and biologics; built and directed several new sales divisions; and developed strategies for reimbursement and external healthcare policy. Prior to Salix, John held positions at Celltech Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for managed market strategy, Medeva Pharmaceuticals and Adams Laboratories. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT, and is a member of several professional societies, including the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.
About Melinta Therapeutics
Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. is dedicated to saving lives threatened by the global public health crisis of bacterial infections through the development of novel antibiotics that provide new and better therapeutic solutions. Melinta is rapidly progressing its late-stage investigational antibiotic, Baxdela, which is currently in Phase 3 development for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). Melinta is committed to developing, through the application of Nobel Prize-winning science, a new class of antibiotics designed to overcome the multi- and extremely-drug-resistant pathogens for which there are few to no options, known collectively as ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter species and Escherichia coli), which cause the majority of life-threatening hospital infections.
Melinta Therapeutics is privately held and backed by Vatera Healthcare Partners (www.vaterahealthcare.com) and Malin Corporation plc (www.malinplc.com) among other private investors. The company is headquartered in New Haven, CT with offices in Lincolnshire, IL. Visit www.melinta.com for more information.