NicOx S.A. Hires Sanjiv Sharma As Vice President Of Commercial Affairs In The United States

NicOx S.A. (Eurolist: COX) today announced that it has recruited Sanjiv Sharma as Vice President of Commercial Affairs. Mr. Sharma will be responsible for implementing a global commercial strategy for NicOx’ portfolio and defining the strategy for establishing sales and marketing operations in preparation for the launch of naproxcinod, the first compound in the CINOD class and the Company’s lead product for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Mr. Sharma will be based in the United States and he will head NicOx’ planned US office in the central New Jersey area, where a NicOx team is expected to be based, including Joan Sutphen, who has been recently named as Director of US Clinical Operations.

Damian Marron, Vice President of Corporate Development at NicOx, declared: “We are delighted to welcome Sanjiv to our executive management team. He brings extensive pharmaceutical industry experience to NicOx, including a strong background in new product introductions and marketing and sales management. His knowledge of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal areas will be invaluable during the launch preparations for naproxcinod and he will undoubtedly play a key role as NicOx implements its strategy to become an integrated company with commercial operations in the US and EU.”

Mr. Sharma will be a member of the NicOx Executive Committee and will report to Damian Marron, Vice President of Corporate Development. Previously, Mr. Sharma led the Strategic Marketing and Business Analysis function at Biovail Pharmaceutical Inc. in the U.S., where he was responsible for new product commercialization and strategic life cycle management across five therapeutic areas, with a special focus on the Ultram® ER franchise for the treatment of chronic pain in adults and the Wellbutrin® XL franchise for the treatment of depression.

Prior to that he worked for 15 years at Sanofi-Aventis and its predecessor companies in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility, culminating in his nomination as Director, New Products Commercialization; Metabolism & Cardiovascular; Global Marketing. He has played a significant role in the successful launch, commercialization or life cycle management of numerous products in the US, Canada and globally, such as Actonel® for the treatment of osteoporosis and Cardizem®, Lovenox® and Altace® for treating cardiovascular diseases. Mr. Sharma obtained his MBA in 1997 from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Ontario and was designated as an Ivey Scholar for Scholastic Excellence.