MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct 11 /PRNewswire/ -- MAP Pharmaceuticals, a leading developer of novel drug therapies, today announced the appointment of Tassos Gianakakos to the position of Sr. Vice President, Corporate and Business Development.
Mr. Gianakakos brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and leadership in business development in the pharmaceutical sector and will be responsible for overseeing all of MAP Pharmaceuticals’ business and corporate development activities.
Mr. Gianakakos joins MAP Pharmaceuticals from Codexis Inc., a private company he helped spin-off from Maxygen in 2001. While at Codexis, Mr. Gianakakos held a variety of leadership positions, most recently Senior Vice President, Business Development and Head of Codexis’ Pharmaceuticals Business Unit. Mr. Gianakakos played a key role in establishing Codexis as an independent entity, raising over $70 million in private financing, and helping grow the company’s revenues and establish its operational and commercial infrastructure. Prior to Codexis, Mr. Gianakakos was Director of Business Development at Maxygen, where he led Maxygen’s business development and commercial efforts in the pharmaceutical and fine chemical area and supported Maxygen’s financing activities, including the company’s initial public offering. Before joining Maxygen, Mr. Gianakakos worked as a Process Engineer at Merck & Co. providing technical support for Merck’s biologics operations.
“We are very excited to have Tassos join MAP,” said Timothy S. Nelson, CEO of MAP Pharmaceuticals. “Tassos’ leadership and business development skills make him an ideal choice for this important position. He brings a deep knowledge and understanding of the healthcare and specialty pharmaceutical industry, its products and the fundamentals that drive the sector. Tassos will be a key asset at MAP as we explore both in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities to fuel our growth and go forward efforts to be a fully integrated commercial organization.”
“We remain focused on realizing our mission of helping a large population of patients that are currently underserved,” Nelson noted. “As we broaden our scope of opportunities, I expect Tassos to be a significant contributor.”
Mr. Gianakakos received a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and a B.Sc. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
About MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Located in Mountain View, California, MAP Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies and inhalation delivery systems to treat a broad range of respiratory and systemic diseases. MAP’s lead product candidates are a proprietary formulation of inhaled DHE for the treatment of migraines and a proprietary formulation of budesonide for the treatment of asthma in both pediatric and adult populations. Additional information about MAP Pharmaceuticals can be found at http://www.mappharma.com .
MAP Pharmaceuticals
CONTACT: Lisa Johnson of MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-650-386-3122, orljohnson@mappharma.com
Web site: http://www.mappharma.com/
