Broomfield, CO, March 24, 2009 – Accera, Inc., a biotechnology company delivering breakthrough therapies in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today that Thomas Werner, Ph.D. has been elected to its board of directors.
Since 2001, Dr. Werner has been a managing director and senior vice president of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and has served as CEO of the GSK Foundation until earlier this year. He led the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in Germany as its chairman through November 2008. He began his pharmaceutical career with Squibb Pharma Germany where he held sales, marketing and brand management positions from 1983-1989 and later held executive management positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Werner earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Göttingen in Germany.
Dr. Werner was instrumental in the successful growth strategies and leadership of the German subsidiaries of GSK and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He grew sales of the ACE inhibitor, Captopril, to become the largest pharmaceutical product in Germany, and developed Viani, an asthma drug, into one of the leading pharmaceutical products in Germany.
Dr. Werner co-founded the Genetic Research Center, a joint venture with the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, both in Munich. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Paul Ehrlich Association and the Robert Koch Foundation. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Werner to our board of directors,” said Steve Orndorff, Ph.D., Accera’s founder and CEO. “Thomas has a demonstrated record of success in the management and leadership of European subsidiaries of internationally acclaimed pharmaceutical companies. With Accera’s recent US product launch of Axona™ for Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Werner’s experience in the commercialization of several highly successful drug products will be invaluable.”
About Accera, Inc.
Accera, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, discovers and develops therapeutic breakthroughs in central nervous systems disorders. Accera’s novel approaches positively impact patients with neurodegenerative disorders who are in need of effective, well-tolerated therapies. Through its proprietary scientific platform, Accera is developing products that address metabolic deficiencies associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases by providing an alternative energy source for the brain. For more information, visit www.accerapharma.com.
