Vital Therapies (NASDAQ:VTL) has appointed Russell Cox as CEO and a member of the board, effective January 3, 2018.
Mr. Cox will succeed Terry Winters who will step down from the Vital board and become a consultant to the company.
Mr. Cox has served as the EVP and COO of Jazz Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:JAZZ) since May 2014, with responsibility for U.S., EU and rest-of-world commercial activities, R&D, manufacturing/technical operations, new product planning and global molecule leadership.
In a statement, Faheem Hasnain, chairman of Vital, Mr. Cox’s experience launching several new therapies will be critical as Vital prepares for potential commercialization of ELAD in the event of positive top line results for VTL-308 and subsequent FDA approval.
Mr. Winters said that with the VTL-308 clinical trial over 80% enrolled and approaching top line data, “we need to transition from an intense focus on clinical development to potential commercialization of ELAD, initially in the U.S. and then worldwide.”
Mr. Cox said ELAD is a “remarkable regenerative therapy with the potential to transform the treatment of acute forms of liver failure, bringing a lifesaving therapy to a large, underserved disease state.”
