Alimera Sciences, Inc. (ALIM) Announces New European Management Team

Alimera Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development, and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, announced that it has appointed the management team that will oversee European commercialization of its lead product, ILUVIEN®. Philip Ashman, Ph.D., has been appointed senior vice president and European managing director, while Eric Teo, MBBS, will serve as vice president and European medical director with Anne-Marie swift serving as vice president and European marketing director.

Dan Myers, president and chief executive officer, Alimera, said, “I am delighted to welcome these talented individuals to Alimera. We believe their broad pharmaceutical experience, and knowledge of the European ophthalmic market, will be integral to achieving our goal of a successful launch of the product in Europe. We are confident in this team’s ability to drive not only European sales of ILUVIEN in our initial launch markets, but also the development of our long term strategy in Europe.”

Dr. Ashman holds over 20 years of experience in all aspects of pharmaceutical management, experience that will be an asset to Alimera. Throughout his career Dr. Ashman has held several leadership roles, including serving as vice president at Bayer, where he was responsible for defining strategy and setting early preparations for specialty medicines. During his tenure at Bayer, Dr. Ashman also served as Regional Business Unit Head (Europe) in Oncology, where he oversaw the delivery of oncology sales and profitability targets in Europe, Canada, the Middle East, and Africa. Most recently, Dr. Ashman has been responsible for leadership of the market access strategy in the U.K. for Bayer, during which time he covered numerous therapy areas including ophthalmology. Dr. Ashman’s qualifications include a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of London: Royal Holloway and Bedford, U.K., as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University College London, U.K.

Eric Teo, MBBS, MBA, FFPM, FRCP, LLM, following a career as a physician, moved to the pharmaceutical industry where he has worked for over 11 years in assorted roles in medical and regulatory affairs where he most recently served as director of global regulatory affairs, health, and personal care for Reckitt Benckiser. Teo also established the European medical and regulatory team following Benckiser’s acquisition of Boots Healthcare, leading several successful European product launches in the process. Dr. Teo received training as physician at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, U.K. Additionally, Dr. Teo obtained a MBA from London Business School as well as a LLM from BPP Law School, London.

Anne-Marie Swift, trained as a registered nurse, has worked extensively as a senior market leader in ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Alimera, Ms. Swift worked at Pfizer Limited as a European brand director of ophthalmology, where she focused on glaucoma and retina treatments. As director of ophthalmology, Swift was responsible for the management of all aspects of marketing — including development of the medical education programs and key opinion leaders — for Xalatan® and Xalacom® throughout Europe. Ms. Swift holds a registered general nursing (RGN) degree from St. Helens and Knowsley School of Nursing, Merseyside, a renal and urology specialist nursing degree from Oxford School of Nursing, Oxford, and a Bachelor of Arts in health studies from Oxford Brookes University.

“ILUVIEN is the first sustained release treatment option for the many patients in Europe suffering from chronic diabetic macular edema (DME) considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies. It is a very exciting time to be joining Alimera Sciences and to have the opportunity to lead the commercial launch of this brand in Europe,” noted Dr. Ashman. “This is a significant step for the company and the many patients with chronic DME.”

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