BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has named Ronald W. Kaiser as its chief financial officer, effective immediately. Mariam Morris has transitioned to the new position of chief accounting officer. Kaiser has more than 25 years of experience as a financial executive, and was most recently chief financial officer of PharmAthene, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Annapolis, Maryland.
“Ron Kaiser brings an important combination of financial acumen and public company experience to his role as Sucampo’s chief financial officer,” said Sachiko Kuno, Ph.D., Sucampo president and chairman of the Board of Directors. “Ron has spent more than two decades as a chief financial officer, including extensive capital raising and transactional experience. During his career Ron has taken five companies public, and he currently serves as the financial expert on two public company boards.”
“Mariam Morris has done an excellent job in helping Sucampo prepare for and file our S-1,” continued Dr. Kuno. “Our company owes Mariam a debt of gratitude for the work she performed while serving as acting chief financial officer of Sucampo during this filing period. Her skills complement Ron’s very well, and we look forward to her contributions as chief accounting officer.”
Prior to his tenure at PharmAthene, Kaiser spent two years as the chief financial officer and secretary of Air Cargo, Inc. From 1998 to 2002, he served as chief financial officer and treasurer of OTG Software, Inc., where he led initial public offering and secondary offering processes, which raised more than $105 million and $70 million, respectively. Kaiser also led the initial public offering of Trusted Information Systems, Inc., where he was executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer from 1996 to 1998.
Kaiser’s previous positions include chief financial officer of publicly held American Communications Services, Inc., chief financial officer of ADAK Communications, Inc., controller and treasurer of Charmilles Technology Manufacturing Corporation, chief financial officer of Leeco Diagnostics, Inc., chief financial officer of Somanetics Corporation and chief financial officer of Photon Sources, Inc. He began his career as a senior accountant for Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte & Touche).
Kaiser serves as director and audit committee financial expert for Nasdaq- listed OPNET Technologies and Vocus, Inc. He holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting and multi-disciplinary pre-law from Michigan State University.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical company based in Bethesda, Md. Sucampo was founded in 1996 by Sachiko Kuno, Ph.D., the company’s president and chairman of the Board of Directors, and Ryuji Ueno, MD, Ph.D., Ph.D., the company’s chief executive officer and chief scientific officer. Sucampo focuses on the development and commercialization of drugs based on prostones, a class of compounds derived from functional fatty acids that occur naturally in the human body. The therapeutic potential of prostones was first identified by Dr. Ueno. In January 2006, Sucampo received marketing approval from the FDA for its first product, AMITIZA(R), for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation in adults. Sucampo has entered into an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Osaka, Japan) to jointly commercialize AMITIZA(R) for gastrointestinal indications in the United States and Canada. Sucampo’s specialized sales force complements the efforts of Takeda by focusing on institutional and long-term care facilities.
AMITIZA(R) is a registered trademark of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects for Sucampo, including statements containing the words “estimates,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, many of which are outside of our control. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of January 3, 2007. Subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to January 3, 2007.
Contact: Scott Solomon Vice President Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. 617-542-5300 SSolomon@investorrelations.com
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Scott Solomon, Vice President of Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.,+1-617-542-5300, or SSolomon@investorrelations.com, for SucampoPharmaceuticals, Inc.
