Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for the treatment and prevention of addiction and related disorders, today announced the appointment of Cary J. Claiborne as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Claiborne will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
In his new role, Mr. Claiborne will be responsible for overseeing the Company’s strategic growth initiatives, including commercial preparations for AD04, advancement of the clinical pipeline, as well as identifying potential strategic/partnering opportunities related to addiction and the Company’s adenosine platform through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Purnovate, Inc. Joseph Truluck who previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, will remain Chief Financial Officer of the Company.
William Stilley, Adial’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are honored to welcome Cary to the senior management team as Chief Operating Officer, following his recent appointment to our Board of Directors. This move allows us to more fully benefit from his extensive experience and successful track record within the biopharmaceutical industry, especially within the addiction space, as we approach completion of our ONWARD® Phase 3 trial and begin preparations for potential commercialization of AD04 for the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD). We also look forward to his contributions as we advance our Purnovate adenosine platform. Given the positive preclinical data around both PNV-5030, as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of pain, and PNV2 in a metastatic breast cancer model, we are more encouraged than ever by the potential for this platform. We look forward to Cary executing in his new role as we pursue potential strategic and partnering activities around our growing pipeline.”
Mr. Claiborne commented, “Following my recent appointment to the Board, I had the opportunity to more fully involve myself in the business, which only heightened my enthusiasm for the Company’s therapeutic pipeline. In turn, this led me to the decision to commit to Adial and leverage my skill set to help advance the Company’s mission. I am proud to join a company whose goal is to develop an effective, safe and genetically targeted product to treat AUD, which affects approximately 35 million people in the U.S. alone, without the negative side effects of current drugs on the market. I look forward to contributing to the success of AD04 as well as the adenosine platform, both of which I believe have significant market potential and address unmet patient needs.”
Mr. Truluck added, “Cary joins our senior management team at the beginning of a new stage in the growth of Adial. I am excited to work closely with Cary to advance AD04 through the completion of our ONWARD trial, while taking full advantage of the bourgeoning opportunities presented by our Purnovate adenosine platform.”
Mr. Claiborne previously served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and board member of Indivior PLC, a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company developing medicines to treat addiction and serious mental illnesses. Among his accomplishments, Mr. Claiborne led the company’s spin off from its then parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, to become an independent, listed company. While at Indivior, he established and oversaw corporate reporting, internal audit, tax, treasury, external audit and information technology. Prior to joining Indivior, Mr. Claiborne served as the CFO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, which was later sold to Mallinckrodt. Before joining Sucampo, Mr. Claiborne served as CFO and Corporate Secretary of Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., and oversaw corporate finance during the company’s initial public offering. He graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Business Administration and from Villanova University with an M.B.A., and was a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow.
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