MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) today announced the appointment of Michael E. Castagna as Chief Commercial Officer of the firm.
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Dr. Castagna will oversee the commercialization efforts of Afrezza® and he will be directly under Matthew Pfeffer who is the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Castagna has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. He was previously employed at Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) where he was the vice President of Global Lifecycle Management. He also held an executive position over a global commercial portfolio of 9 biosimilars from Amgen.
Before his employment at Amgen, he was the Executive Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY). He was closely involved in the reboot of Orencia IV as well as the launch of Orencia SC drugs. The two drugs are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. His resume also extends to Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS). Dr. Castagna received his Pharmacy degree from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and his Masters from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He achieved his doctorate degree in Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
Pfeffer stated that he was pleased to usher in Dr. Castagna to the firm where he will take up the role. The CEO also added that the doctor’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry will be vital towards helping the firm to boost sales as well as to strengthen the marketing for the firm especially for the relaunched products. Pfeffer also noted that the company will relaunch Afrezza in the next few months.
Dr. Castagna issued a statement saying that he was excited to be part of MannKind and was optimistic about the potential of Afrezza and the commercial opportunities that it presents especially in managing diabetes in adults. The company further announced the resignation of Juergen A. Martens who has been the company’s Chief Operating Officer.