BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albireo Limited, a privately held company focused through its operating subsidiary on the development of bile acid modulators to treat orphan pediatric and adult liver diseases, NASH, and gastrointestinal disorders, announced today that Ron Cooper has joined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Cooper is a global biopharmaceutical leader with a track record of growing businesses, brands and organizations in the U.S. and Europe. He joins Albireo from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), where he was President of Europe. In addition, Albireo has established a U.S. subsidiary office in Boston, Massachusetts.
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"We are pleased to welcome Ron as the new CEO of Albireo," said Dr. David Chiswell, Chairman of Albireo's board of directors. "Ron's management skills and impressive track record with blockbuster drugs make him uniquely qualified to drive Albireo's strategic direction as we advance our promising pipeline of mid- and late-stage product candidates in disease areas with significant unmet medical need."
"I am delighted to join Albireo at such an exciting time for the company," said Mr. Cooper. "We expect to achieve several value-generating milestones in the coming months, including data readouts for our three lead assets. I look forward to helping Albireo's team of world-class experts in bile acid biology deliver on the promise of our pipeline."
During his more than 25 years at BMS, Mr. Cooper worked in five different countries and held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and general management, culminating as President of Europe. He was responsible for more than 30 countries with sales exceeding $4.5 billion. While at BMS, he was directly involved with numerous product successes, including Abilify®, Avapro®, Atripla®, Eliquis®, Orencia®, Pravachol®, Plavix®, Reyataz®, Sustiva®, Sprycel®, and Yervoy®. He has successfully completed more than a dozen business development transactions, including the creation of the first single tablet HIV/AIDS regimen partnership. Mr. Cooper is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University in Canada.
About Albireo Limited
Albireo Limited is a privately held company focused through its operating subsidiary on the development and commercialization of novel locally acting bile acid modulators to treat diseases in which there is high unmet medical need, including rare cholestatic liver diseases, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and debilitating gastrointestinal disorders. Albireo's clinical pipeline includes two Phase 2 product candidates and one in Phase 3. Albireo was spun out from AstraZeneca in 2008 and is backed by top-tier life science investors such as Phase IV Ventures, TPG Biotech, TVM Capital Life Science and Aberdeen Asset Management, as well as AstraZeneca.
Albireo Limited is incorporated and registered in England and Wales, and its wholly owned subsidiaries are located in Gothenburg, Sweden (including its operating subsidiary Albireo AB) and Boston, Massachusetts. For more information on Albireo, please visit www.albireopharma.com.
Albireo is a registered trademark of Albireo AB in key pharmaceutical markets in Europe. Any other service marks, trademarks and trade names appearing in this press release are the properties of their respective owners.
