RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: LQDA), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Richard D. Katz, M.D., as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Dr. Katz joins Liquidia with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare finance and corporate development. Most recently, he served as CFO at Argos Therapeutics.
“Rich is an experienced healthcare and financial executive with a proven track record of guiding public life sciences companies through their corporate life cycles, including building pipeline and commercial opportunities, raising capital, negotiating business development transactions and portfolio resource allocation,” said Neal Fowler, Chief Executive Officer of Liquidia. “His range of industry expertise and relevant leadership skills will serve us well as we drive towards a New Drug Application submission in late 2019 for LIQ861, our lead program to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).”
Prior to his time at Argos, Dr. Katz served as CFO at several biopharmaceutical companies including Viamet Pharmaceuticals and Icagen, Inc. At Icagen, Dr. Katz was instrumental in the company’s initial public offering and subsequent financings, the formation of several strategic collaborations, and the company’s sale to Pfizer. Prior to transitioning to the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Katz had worked as a vice president in the healthcare group of the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Company, where he executed a broad range of transactions, including equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructurings. Dr. Katz received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Fowler continued, “Rich will work closely with our leadership team, including Tim Albury, who served a critical role over the past several months during this transition time. We are grateful for Tim’s valuable contributions.”
“I look forward to working with the Liquidia team at this pivotal time in the company’s history with preparations for the transition to a commercial-stage biopharma underway based upon progress with and the promise of LIQ861. In addition, LIQ865, a non-opioid agent for the treatment of post-operative pain, represents another exciting pipeline opportunity leveraging Liquidia’s proprietary PRINT® technology platform. I am particularly excited by the potential of this unique and broadly applicable technology to bring substantial benefit to patients with a range of diseases and disorders,” said Dr. Katz.
About Liquidia Technologies
Liquidia is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics using its proprietary PRINT® technology to transform the lives of patients. Currently, Liquidia is focused on the development of two product candidates using its PRINT® particle engineering platform: LIQ861 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. Being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial (INSPIRE), LIQ861 is designed to improve the therapeutic profile of treprostinil by enhancing deep-lung delivery and achieving higher dose levels than current inhaled therapies by using a convenient, palm-sized, disposable dry powder inhaler. LIQ865, for which Liquidia has completed two Phase 1 clinical trials, is designed to deliver sustained-release particles of bupivacaine, a non-opioid anesthetic, to treat local post-operative pain for three to five days through a single administration. For more information visit Liquidia’s website at www.liquidia.com.
