New executives for Paratek

 

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc. promoted Evan Loh, M.D., to CEO in June. Dr. Loh continues to serve on the Paratek board of directors. Michael Bigham, who served as Paratek’s chairman and CEO since 2014, remains active with the company in the newly created role of executive chairman.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Paratek through the next phase of growth as we work to continue the successful launch and commercialization of Nuzyra in the U.S. and establish Paratek as the leader in the anti-infective space,” Dr. Loh says. “My primary focus will be on creating significant value for shareholders by maintaining a clear focus on our commercialization and life-cycle expansion opportunities for Nuzyra, and ultimately ensuring patients have access to this potential life-saving therapy.”

Dr. Loh has almost 20 years of experience as a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently serving as Paratek’s chief operating officer since January 2017 and as president and chief medical officer and a member of the board of directors since June 2014.

Prior to Paratek’s merger with Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Loh was chief medical officer and chairman of the board of directors of Paratek from June 2012 to June 2014. Before joining Paratek, Dr. Loh held multiple senior leadership roles at Pfizer and Wyeth, where he led the successful global registration programs for Torisel and Tygacil.

Dr. Loh currently serves on the board of directors of Eiger Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and as chairman of the Antimicrobials Working Group. Earlier in his career, Dr. Loh served as a faculty member at both Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Loh received his A.B. from Harvard College and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Besides Dr. Loh, Paratek has promoted two others: Adam Woodrow as president and Randy Brenner as chief development and regulatory officer.

Woodrow retains his chief commercial officer title, continuing to lead the commercial organization to advance the U.S. launch of Nuzyra and assuming responsibility for the company’s business development initiatives.

Woodrow joined Paratek in 2014 and has been instrumental in building Paratek’s commercial organization and in executing the launch of Nuzyra. Prior to Paratek, Woodrow launched or led the global strategic marketing and commercial teams for a variety of products including Tygacil, ciprofloxacin, Zosyn, Xeljanz, Enbrel, Zyvox, ReFacto, Benefix, and Vyndaqel.

Brenner joined Paratek in 2015 as a member of the executive team, leading the regulatory, quality and manufacturing activities for Nuzyra’s development and approval. Brenner’s role has been expanded to include the development and medical functions for Paratek.

Before joining Paratek, Brenner was global head of regulatory at Shire and held multiple senior regulatory leadership roles for Pfizer and Wyeth, where he was responsible for more than 20 new product approvals globally.

“I would like to thank Evan for his steadfast service and consummate professionalism over the years,” Bigham says. “He has worked in close partnership with me these past five years as we built Paratek from a small private company into a leading public antibiotics company with two approved antibiotics, Nuzyra and Seysara. Evan and the team have demonstrated an ability to discover, develop and successfully launch new medicines. I look forward to continue working closely with Evan, in partnership with Adam and Randy, to lead Paratek into the next phase of its growth.”