Savient announces executive appointments
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Savient Pharmaceuticals announced changes to its management team as it gears up for the commercial launch of its chronic gout treatment.
The drug maker appointed Louis Ferrari as its SVP corporate development, Christine Mikail as SVP and Stephen Davies as chief information officer and group VP.
Savient said the new additions to its executive team will strengthen the company as it globally launches Krystexxa (pegloticase), which received regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration last September as a chronic gout treatment for adult patients refractory to conventional therapy.
Louis Ferrari, a pharmaceutical industry veteran, joins Savient from Centocor Ortho Biotech, where he served as VP oncology and nephrology, sales and marketing, responsible for sales of Procrit and Doxil. At Savient, he will be responsible for all commercial activities in North America.
Christine Mikail, who served as VP, general counsel and secretary for ImClone Systems, will be responsible for all of Savient's business development activities and strategic planning, including the initiative to launch Krystexxa globally.
Stephen Davies served as VP information technology at ImClone Systems before joining Savient, where he was responsible for developing an IT approach to enable international expansion and improved infrastructure security. In his role at Savient, Davies will be responsible for building all global information systems support for the Krystexxa launch.
All three executives will report to Savient CEO John Johnson, who recently joined the company from Eli Lilly, where he was president of its oncology unit.
"We are pleased to welcome Louis, Christine and Stephen to Savient," Johnson said. "This is an exciting time for Savient, and these are three key additions that will help make for a successful commercial launch of Krystexxa. Today's appointments will augment our already strong team of talented executives and employees, all of whom are committed to bringing this life-changing therapy to adult patients suffering from chronic gout refractory to conventional therapy. I look forward to working closely with Louis, Christine and Stephen and the entire Savient team as we embark on this next phase in Savient's history."