Cocrystal Pharma (NASDAQ: COCP) has appointed biopharma industry leader James Sapirstein as chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately.
According to Cocrystal, Mr. Sapirstein will also be appointed to its board of directors. He replaces Sam Lee and Jim Martin, who served as co-CEOs. Sam Lee will continue as president and transition to chief scientific officer, and Jim Martin will continue as chief financial officer.
Throughout his career, Mr. Sapirstein participated in or led 23 product launches, and has driven numerous business development transactions. He was CEO of Contravir Pharmaceuticals—now Hepion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: HEPA), and served as the founding CEO of closely held Tobira Therapeutics.
In a statement, Roger Kornberg, PhD, chairman of Cocrystal, commented, “James brings the right experience in the biopharma business as we’re accelerating the advancement of multiple clinical programs. We have known him for many years, and our management team and board are appreciative of his decision to join us as CEO.”
Mr. Sapirstein remarked, “Cocrystal’s pipeline comprises transformative antivirals developed using its structure-based drug discovery platform. We are well positioned with the right technology and team to create meaningful benefits for patients as well as our shareholders. The potential to address the need for new antivirals is highly motivating for me with my product development and launch background.”
