Aerami Therapeutics has announced that its current Chief Operating Officer Lisa Yañez will succeed Steve Thornton as CEO, effective January 1, 2023. Thornton will continue as a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Aerami in June 2022, Yañez was VP of Global Strategic Marketing at Acceleron Pharma and previously held marketing positions at United Therapeutics, where she headed up the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) franchise. Her prior experience also includes stints at Genentech, Allergan, GSK, and Merck.
In December 2021, Aerami announced that it would go public through a SPAC merger; however, that deal was cancelled several months later. The company, which was previously called Dance Biopharm, licensed its lead candidate, AER-901 inhaled imatinib for the treatment of PAH, from Vectura in 2020.
Aerami initiated a Phase 1 trial of AER-901 in June 2021, and the FDA has granted AER-901 Orphan Drug designation for that indication. In a separate press release, the company said that it has completed dosing in the Phase 1 trial. Aerami’s pipeline also includes AER-501 inhaled insulin, which has completed Phase 2 development, and AER-601, an inhaled short-acting GLP-1 analog that has completed IND enabling studies.
Yañez said, “I’m delighted to lead Aerami and its development programs at this critical stage for the company. Having seen firsthand the potential of AER-901 in PAH and knowing the strength of our other drug-device development programs, I look forward to helping our team add as much value as we can to patients’ lives by focusing on the potential of AER-901 and additional pipeline assets.”
Aerami Chairman of the Board Anne Whitaker commented, “We are thrilled that Lisa is on board to help guide Aerami Therapeutics into the next phase of clinical development and ultimately commercialization of approved products. As Aerami continues to advance potentially life-changing medicines, Lisa’s deep experience in cardiopulmonary disease will bring the focused expertise Aerami needs to grow the business and strengthen our platform opportunities. On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Steve for his leadership over the past two years and for the significant progress made at Aerami on his watch.”
Read the Aerami Therapeutics press release.
