TARIS
Biomedical, a specialty pharmaceutical company pioneering the field
of drug-device convergence for targeted therapies, announced that Sarma
Duddu, Ph.D. has been named President and Chief Executive Officer and a
member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately.
“We are extremely pleased that Sarma Duddu has joined TARIS as the Chief
Executive Officer. Sarma is a highly accomplished drug developer with
significant expertise in drug delivery and is ideally suited to lead the
company as it develops its products for genitourinary indications.” said
Michael Cima, Ph.D., co-Founder, MIT Professor.
Dr. Duddu comes to TARIS Biomedical with more than 15 years of
pharmaceutical experience and has been involved in all aspects of the
drug delivery business. Most recently, he held the position of General
Manager and Vice President of Worldwide Drug Delivery Technologies of
CIMA LABS, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cephalon, Inc
(NASDAQ:CEPH). Prior to Cephalon, Dr. Duddu served as Vice President of
Pharmaceutical Development at Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR)
(formerly Inhale Therapeutic Systems), a leading drug delivery company
based in San Carlos, CA. Prior to Nektar, he worked at SmithKline
Beecham Pharmaceuticals, where he focused in the areas of pharmaceutical
technology, formulation sciences and product development. Dr. Duddu
earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Minnesota and a
Bachelors degree in Pharmacy from Andhra University in Waltair, India.
“TARIS has truly novel drug-device convergence product candidates in
therapeutic areas with high unmet medical need, and I am excited to
accept this opportunity to take TARIS to the next stage of its
development,” said Sarma Duddu, Ph.D., President and CEO, TARIS
Biomedical.
About TARIS Biomedical
TARIS Biomedical Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with deep
domain expertise in therapeutics and drug-delivery, is focused on local
minimally-invasive drug-device convergence products. The TARIS core
technology and development efforts are being applied to disease areas
with high unmet medical need in which current therapies or systemic
treatments have failed. TARIS Biomedical is developing several
drug-device convergence product opportunities focused on addressing
underserved disease areas, with an initial focus on the genitourinary
system, specifically for the treatment of bladder diseases. Based in
Lexington, MA, TARIS Biomedical’s technology was developed by
internationally renowned scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Robert Langer and Michael Cima, and is backed by leading
venture capital firms Flagship Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners and
Polaris Venture Partners. For more information, visit www.tarisbiomedical.com.
TARIS Biomedical
Gina Nugent, 617-460-3579
nugentcomm@aol.com