Horizon Pharma Announces The Appointment Of H. Thomas Watkins To Its Board Of Directors

DEERFIELD, IL--(Marketwired - April 17, 2014) - Horizon Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: HZNP) today announced the appointment of H. Thomas Watkins, former director, president and chief executive officer of Human Genome Sciences, to its board of directors. Additionally, Jean-François Formela, M.D. has resigned from the Horizon board of directors.

“Tom brings valuable industry experience to our board as a highly regarded biotechnology leader,” said Timothy P. Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Horizon Pharma. “As we continue to grow our commercial business and build our organization through in-licensing and acquisitions, his strategic insights and pharmaceutical leadership experience will be important at this critical juncture for Horizon. Also, I would like to thank Jean-François for his years of service and counsel as a member of our board. Jean-François joined the Horizon board in 2010 in connection with our acquisition of Nitec and has been a valuable member of the board in helping us develop and implement the strategic direction of the Company.”

Mr. Watkins, in his most recent role, was director, president and chief executive officer of Human Genome Sciences (HGS) from 2004 until HGS was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2012. Before leading HGS, Mr. Watkins spent over twenty years in senior roles at Abbott and its affiliates in the U.S. and Asia, most recently serving as the president of TAP Pharmaceutical Products, Inc., which was jointly owned by Abbott and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. During his tenure, he led the growth of TAP from approximately $2 billion to over $4 billion in annual revenue. Mr. Watkins began his career in 1974 with Arthur Andersen & Co. From 1979 to 1985, he was a management consultant with McKinsey and Company, Inc., working with multinational companies in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

“I am pleased to join the board of Horizon and work with the Company as it builds upon its recent commercial and business development success,” said Mr. Watkins.

Mr. Watkins holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Currently, Mr. Watkins is the chairman of the board of directors of Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and a member of the board of visitors of The College of William and Mary.

About Horizon Pharma
Horizon Pharma, Inc. is a commercial stage, specialty pharmaceutical company that markets DUEXIS®, VIMOVO® and RAYOS®/LODOTRA®, which target unmet therapeutic needs in arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases. The Company’s strategy is to develop, acquire or in-license additional innovative medicines where it can execute a targeted commercial approach among specific target physicians such as primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, and rheumatologists, while taking advantage of its commercial strengths and the infrastructure the Company has put in place. For more information, please visit www.horizonpharma.com.