RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LQDA), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel products using its proprietary PRINT® technology, today announced Steven Bariahtaris has been appointed interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately. He succeeds Richard Katz, M.D. who has resigned from his role at Liquidia in order to pursue other opportunities. Liquidia has engaged Spencer Stuart, a global executive search and leadership advisory firm, to conduct the search for a permanent successor.
“Steve is a talented and proven leader who is known for his strategic insights, financial expertise and unwavering commitment to value creation,” said Neal Fowler, Chief Executive Officer at Liquidia. “Once the acquisition of RareGen is completed, Liquidia will emerge as a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with a potential new product launch, LIQ861, on the horizon. Steve’s vast experience in scaling and implementing financial capabilities and commercial readiness strategies will be instrumental during this truly transformative period for our company.” Mr. Fowler added, “We are very appreciative of Rich’s contributions to the company during his tenure and we wish him every success in his future endeavors.”Mr. Bariahtaris joins Liquidia with an extensive background in corporate finance and management. Prior to Liquidia, he spent nearly 24 years at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) serving in several executive roles with increasing responsibility. Most recently, Mr. Bariahtaris served as J&J’s Worldwide Vice President, Corporate Internal Audit, where he acted as the Chief Audit Executive for the $80 billion healthcare company. Mr. Bariahtaris served in several additional J&J leadership roles including CFO & Vice President of Finance for Janssen Americas where he provided financial leadership for the $20+ billion pharmaceuticals business and Vice President, Worldwide Finance and CFO for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics where he provided financial leadership for the $2 billion fully integrated global diagnostics business.“I am thrilled to be joining Liquidia at such a pivotal time,” said Mr. Bariahtaris. “I look forward to working closely with Neal and Liquidia team to advance the company for its commercial debut, integration of RareGen upon closing, and position it for long-term growth.”Mr. Bariahtaris began his career with Proctor and Gamble (P&G) working initially in supply chain management roles before his transition to Corporate Finance. He received a Bachelor of Science (B.S) from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.Dr. Katz has agreed to provide advice and assistance to the Company for a short period of time in order to support a smooth transition.About Liquidia
Liquidia is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel products using its proprietary PRINT® technology to transform the lives of patients. PRINT is a particle engineering platform that enables precise production of uniform drug particles designed to improve the safety, efficacy and performance of a wide range of therapies. Currently, Liquidia is focused on the development of two product candidates for which it holds worldwide commercial rights: LIQ861 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and LIQ865 for the treatment of local post-operative pain. Liquidia is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC. For more information, please visit www.liquidia.com.About RareGen
RareGen, LLC is a portfolio company of PBM Capital Group, a healthcare investment firm. RareGen provides strategy, investment, and commercialization for rare disease pharmaceutical products. RareGen has a national sales force focused on cardiology and pulmonology specialties.Important Information About the Transaction and Where to Find ItLiquidia Technologies, Inc.
Jason Adair
Investor Relations
240.372.1664
Jason.adair@liquidia.comParticipants in the SolicitationNo Offer or SolicitationCautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our strategic and financial initiatives, our business strategy and plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding clinical trials, clinical studies and other clinical work (including the funding therefor, anticipated patient enrollment, safety data, study data, trial outcomes, timing or associated costs), regulatory applications and related timelines, including potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the New Drug Application (NDA) for LIQ861, the timeline or outcome related to our patent litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware or two petitions for inter partes review with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and our ability to execute on our strategic or financial initiatives, involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks discussed in our and Liquidia Corporation’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk that our proposed acquisition of RareGen, LLC is not consummated or that the expected benefits and synergies from the proposed acquisition are not realized, the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on our company and our financial condition and results of operations, as well as a number of uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and our industry has inherent risks. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that these goals will be achieved, and we undertake no duty to update our goals or to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Contact Information
Media:
Michael Parks
Corporate Communications
484.356.7105
michael.parks@liquidia.com Investors:
Jason Adair
Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy
919.328.4400
jason.adair@liquidia.com
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