Adhera Therapeutics Inc. appointed Nancy Phelan as chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Robert Moscato Jr. resigned from the position, and his position as a board member, on Thursday.

“We would like to thank Rob for his service to Adhera during a critical time in the company’s development as it launched its commercial efforts for Prestalia and completed a strategic reorganization, and we wish him well as he pursues other ventures,” said Uli Hacksell, chairman of the board of directors of Adhera.

Phelan received a three-year contract and a base salary of $360,000.

Phelan will also be eligible for an annual discretionary cash bonus with a target of 50 percent of her base salary, subject to her achievement of any applicable performance targets and goals established by the board.

The company has also granted Phelan options to purchase up to 1.5 million shares of stock at an exercise price equal to the closing price on her commencement date. The options were granted under the company’s 2018 long-term incentive plan.

Phelan has served as a director for Adhera since October 2018. She is a senior executive and leader with over 20 years’ of practice in the health care and biotech industries.

Prior, Phelan served as senior vice president of commercial growth at Outcome Health from July 2017 to September 2018. She has also served since January 2018 as the executive advisor before switching to the chief business officer in October 2018 for Innate Biologics, which targets and works to prevent and treat inflammation.

“I am excited to assume the role of chief executive officer of Adhera Therapeutics,” Phelan said in a statement. “Adhera has been focused on its sales efforts for its first commercial product, Prestalia, for the past three fiscal quarters, and I look forward to growing the patient-centric success that Adhera has achieved. I look forward to working collaboratively to grow the company, expand sales and increase shareholder value.”

Durham-based Adhera is a pharmaceutical company. Its Prestalia product is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure.

Adhera’s stock was last updated as 37 cents and declined 5.13 percent on April 2.