Industry leader with substantial U.S. and global experience in drug development and medical affairs joins Lyra as the Company’s late-stage product candidates advance in the clinic
Lyra Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage therapeutics company leveraging its proprietary XTreo™ platform to enable precise, sustained and local delivery of medications to the ear, nose and throat (ENT) passages and other diseased tissues, today announced that Richard Nieman, MD, has been appointed Chief Medical Officer, effective July 11, 2022. Dr. Nieman brings more than 25 years of experience in drug development and medical affairs, with a proven track record in developing medicines through commercialization and beyond.
“We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Nieman as our Chief Medical Officer,” said Maria Palasis, PhD, CEO of Lyra Therapeutics. “Dr. Nieman joins the Lyra team at a critical time with our lead candidate LYR-210 in pivotal Phase 3 trials. Having successfully developed and launched numerous innovative medicines for patients and their families during the course of his career, his experience building and leading medical organizations will be invaluable as we work to bring new treatments to patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).”
“I’m thrilled to be taking on this role during such an exciting time in Lyra’s growth and evolution with late-stage clinical programs,” said Dr. Nieman. “There is a significant need for effective treatments for patients suffering with CRS, and I look forward to working with the Lyra team to build on the compelling data to date and contributing my abilities and experience as the company drives towards commercialization.”
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Dr. Nieman, a respiratory physician (pulmonologist) with deep pharmaceutical medicine experience, has had prior leadership roles as SVP & Worldwide Medical Head of Immunology at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Head of R&D China at BMS, Global Medical Officer & Head of Medical at Teva, and Head of Asia Pacific Medical at Bayer. At Teva, he led the company’s medical and heath economic and outcome research (HEOR) function of 550 professionals and was a member of the Specialty Executive Team. In addition to his U.S. experience and credentials, Richard has also spent significant time working in China, throughout Asia and in Europe. He has been involved in bringing numerous important medicines to the market in the U.S. and Europe, including Cinquair in asthma, Copaxone 40 mg 3x/week in multiple sclerosis, Austedo in movement disorders, Ajovy in migraine and Xarelto in thrombosis and stroke prevention. Richard is a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Physicians, a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kings College, London, and was a Visiting Professor at Fudan University School of Public Health in Shanghai, China. He has published extensively and trained and practiced medicine in the UK. Dr. Nieman assumes the role of Chief Medical Officer previously held by Dr. Robert Kern, who will continue to work closely with the Company in the role of Chief Clinical Advisor.
Lyra has approved the issuance of an equity-based award pursuant to its 2022 Inducement Award Plan to Dr. Nieman upon the commencement of his employment. The inducement grant was approved by a majority of the Company’s independent directors and was made as a material inducement to Dr. Nieman’s acceptance of employment with Lyra in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) as a component of his employment compensation. The inducement grant consists of a non-qualified stock option to purchase an aggregate of 230,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The inducement grant is subject to the terms and conditions of the award agreement covering the performance stock option grant and the Company’s 2022 Inducement Award Plan.