Steve Davis Appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer
SAN DIEGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Mar. 11, 2015—ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD), a biopharmaceutical companyfocused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicinesthat address unmet medical needs in neurological and related centralnervous system disorders, today announced that Uli Hacksell, Ph.D., hasretired as ACADIA’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Boardof Directors, effective today. Steve Davis, Executive Vice President,Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of ACADIA, has beenappointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Hacksell will remainas a Special Advisor to the Company during this transition period.ACADIA’s Board of Directors plans to initiate a search for a permanentChief Executive Officer.
Speaking on behalf of ACADIA’s Board of Directors, Leslie L. Iversen,Ph.D., Chairman, stated, “Under Uli’s leadership, ACADIA has grown froma small startup to a fast growing biopharmaceutical company withinnovative drug candidates such as NUPLAZIDTM that has thepotential to transform the treatment of psychosis in a range ofneurological and psychiatric disorders. We thank Uli for his significantcontributions to the Company over the last 16 years. His dedication,tenacity, deep knowledge of the CNS space, and life-long passion todeliver new drugs that can improve the lives of patients with CNSdisorders have benefited ACADIA greatly.”
Dr. Iversen continued, “Steve Davis brings over 20 years ofexecutive-level experience and more than 20 years of collectiveexperience on the boards of directors of public biopharmaceuticalcompanies to his role as ACADIA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer.Steve’s strong operational experience and demonstrated leadership skillswill be important as ACADIA moves NUPLAZID towards registration andprepares for the planned launch of NUPLAZID in the United States.”
Separately, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals issued a news release todayannouncing a change in timing of its planned New Drug Application (NDA)submission for NUPLAZID. The Company will be holding a conference calltoday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss its planned NDA submissionand the management change.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
ACADIA management will hold a conference call and webcast today, March11, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessedby dialing 877-280-4954 for participants in the U.S. or Canadaand 857-244-7311 for international callers (reference passcode18127460). A telephone replay of the conference call may be accessedthrough March 25, 2015 by dialing 888-286-8010 for callers in the U.S.or Canada and 617-801-6888 for international callers (reference passcode30031975). The conference call also will be webcast live on ACADIA’swebsite, www.acadia-pharm.com,under the investors section and will be archived there until March 25,2015.
About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
ACADIA is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development andcommercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needsin neurological and related central nervous system disorders. ACADIA hasa pipeline of product candidates led by NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), forwhich we have reported positive Phase III trial results in Parkinson’sdisease psychosis and which has the potential to be the first drugapproved in the United States for this disorder. Pimavanserin is also inPhase II development for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and hassuccessfully completed a Phase II trial in schizophrenia. ACADIA alsohas clinical-stage programs for chronic pain and glaucoma incollaboration with Allergan, Inc. All product candidates are smallmolecules that emanate from internal discoveries. ACADIA maintains awebsite at www.acadia-pharm.comto which we regularly post copies of our press releases as well asadditional information and through which interested parties cansubscribe to receive e-mail alerts.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical innature are forward-looking statements. These statements include but arenot limited to statements related to the timing of the submission of anNDA for NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of Parkinson’s diseasepsychosis (PDP); the potential for pimavanserin to be the first drugapproved in the United States for PDP, if approved at all; the potentialfor NUPLAZID to transform the treatment of psychosis in a range ofneurological and psychiatric disorders; ACADIA’s plans to exploreNUPLAZID in indications other than PDP; the importance to ACADIA of Mr.Davis’ experience and leadership skills as it moves NUPLAZID towardsregistration and prepares for its planned launch; ACADIA’s plans toinitiate a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer to replace Dr.Hacksell; and the progress, timing and results of ACADIA’s drugdiscovery and development programs, either alone or with a partner,including the progress and expected timing of clinical trials, includingplanned trials for pimavanserin. These statements are only predictionsbased on current information and expectations and involve a number ofrisks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materiallyfrom those projected in any of such statements due to various factors,including the risks and uncertainties inherent in drug discovery,development, approval, and commercialization, and collaborations withothers, and the fact that past results of clinical trials may not beindicative of future trial results. For a discussion of these and otherfactors, please refer to ACADIA’s annual report on Form 10-K for theyear ended December 31, 2014 as well as ACADIA’s subsequent filings withthe Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to placeundue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only asof the date hereof. This caution is made under the safe harborprovisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Allforward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by thiscautionary statement and ACADIA undertakes no obligation to revise orupdate this press release to reflect events or circumstances after thedate hereof, except as required by law.
Source: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Investor Contacts:
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
SteveDavis, Interim Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Barthelemy,Director of Investor Relations
(858) 558-2871
or
MediaContact:
Russo Partners
David Schull
(858)717-2310
david.schull@russopartnersllc.com