Titan Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TTNP), in a move to boost its product development and commercialization experience in the U.S., Europe and Asia, named Scott Smith and Dr. Rajinder Kumar to its board.
Mr. Smith is president of global inflammation and immunology at Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) and Dr. Kumar is CEO of MeRaD Pharmaceutical.
“Following the commercial launch of Probuphine, Titan’s first approved product based on our ProNeura, long-term, continuous drug delivery platform, we are focused more than ever on building our product portfolio,” executive chairman Dr. Marc Rubin, said in a statement.
“These two executives’ skills and experience advancing products from early development through commercialization in multiple global markets will be an important and valuable addition to the Titan board,” he added.
Mr. Smith said Titan has an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the treatment of certain chronic diseases with its ProNeura platform. “The commercialization of Probuphine, along with the development of ProNeura for Parkinson’s disease and hypothyroidism, represent the beginning of what promises to be an important portfolio of product candidates,” he added.
Dr. Kumar said that despite important advances in drug development, effective and convenient drug delivery remains an unmet challenge. Many patients suffer from side effects associated with inconsistent levels of medication in the blood and struggle with compliance. ProNeura has the potential to overcome these challenges, he added.
Dr. Kumar also said he is excited to be working with Titan to help guide its product portfolio. “I am equally looking forward to assisting Titan with commercializing Probuphine in European and other markets, where there is a great need for new treatments for opioid addiction.”
