Ascendis Pharma A/S Will Appoint Jesper Høiland as Global Chief Commercial Officer

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascendis Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ASND), a biopharmaceutical company that utilizes its innovative TransCon™ technologies to address unmet medical needs, today announced that the company will appoint Jesper Høiland as Global Chief Commercial Officer upon completion of his transition from Radius Health, Inc.

“The addition of Jesper to the senior leadership team at Ascendis Pharma is a key next step in our preparation for the global launch of our endocrinology rare disease portfolio and our strategy to establish Ascendis as a leading global biopharma company,” commented Jan Mikkelsen, Ascendis Pharma’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Jesper’s broad background of decades in the biopharmaceutical industry includes over 20 years of commercial experience in growth hormone, during which he helped to establish Novo Nordisk’s daily growth hormone as the leading brand both in the United States and globally.”

Mr. Høiland commented, “I am thrilled to join Ascendis at this critical juncture as we approach the potential global launch of the company’s first endocrinology rare disease products. My passion is launching, establishing and maintaining leading global brands and I look forward to achieving that for each of Ascendis Pharma’s endocrinology rare disease product candidates.”

Mr. Høiland most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Radius Health until May 2020, where he led Tymlos^® to a market leadership position in three years as a treatment for osteoporosis. He has over 25 years of senior leadership experience in operations, commercialization and global marketing and has launched five products to market leadership positions in endocrinology and hematology. Mr. Høiland’s extensive experience establishing global leadership of endocrinology products began with the first launch of Novo Nordisk’s daily growth hormone in 1988. Prior to joining Radius, Mr. Høiland served as President of Novo Nordisk USA overseeing approximately 5,300 employees. Under his leadership, Novo Nordisk solidified its market leadership in diabetes and also significantly grew its hemophilia and growth hormone franchises. Before serving as President of Novo Nordisk USA, Mr. Høiland held multiple global roles of increasing responsibility at Novo Nordisk, including leading its International Operations which spanned approximately 150 countries.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma is applying its innovative platform technology to build a leading, fully integrated biopharma company focused on making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives. Guided by its core values of patients, science and passion, the company utilizes its TransCon™ technologies to create new and potentially best-in-class therapies.

Ascendis Pharma currently has a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development and is advancing oncology as its second therapeutic area of focus. The company continues to expand into additional therapeutic areas to address unmet patient needs.

Ascendis is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with additional offices in Heidelberg and Berlin, Germany, and in Palo Alto and Redwood City, California.

For more information, please visit www.ascendispharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding our future operations, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to (i) our preparation for the global launch of our endocrinology rare disease portfolio and our strategy to establish Ascendis as a leading global biopharma company, (ii) our ability to apply our platform technology to build a leading, fully integrated biopharma company, (iii) our expectations regarding our ability to create new and potentially best-in-class therapies and (iv) our product pipeline and expansion into additional therapeutic areas. We may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make, including the following: unforeseen safety or efficacy results in our TransCon hGH, TransCon PTH and TransCon CNP or other development programs; unforeseen expenses related to the development and potential commercialization of TransCon hGH, TransCon PTH and TransCon CNP or other development programs, general and administrative expenses, other research and development expenses and our business generally; delays in the development of TransCon hGH, TransCon PTH and TransCon CNP or other development programs related to manufacturing, regulatory requirements, speed of patient recruitment or other unforeseen delays; dependence on third party manufacturers to supply study drug for planned clinical studies; our ability to obtain additional funding, if needed, to support our business activities and the effects on our business of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to our business in general, see our current and future reports filed with, or submitted to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 3, 2020. Forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future in-licensing, collaborations, acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments we may enter into or make. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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