CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNTA), a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, today announced the appointment of Steven C. Gilman, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors effective June 22, 2016. Dr. Gilman was most recently Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, until its acquisition by Merck & Co. in January 2015.

"Steve brings a strong set of biopharmaceutical research and development expertise and I am very pleased that he has decided to join our Board," said Craig Wheeler, President and CEO, Momenta Pharmaceuticals. “His wealth of experience in building and leading novel immunology and inflammation drug development programs will be of significant importance as we work to rapidly advance our biosimilar and novel autoimmune drug portfolios toward commercialization.”

Momenta also announced today that Bennett M. Shapiro, M.D., will no longer serve as a member of Momenta’s Board of Directors following completion of his term ending on June 22, 2016. Dr. Shapiro was a member of the Board of Directors since 2003, serving on the science, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees.

"I'd like to thank Ben for his many years of invaluable support in building Momenta into the company it is today with two complex generic products on the market and a robust portfolio of biosimilar and novel drug candidates. We wish him well in his future endeavors," continued Mr. Wheeler.

Dr. Gilman currently serves as the Executive Chairman and interim CEO of ContraFect Corporation (NASDAQ:CFRX) and as a member of the board of directors of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL), SCYNEXIS (NASDAQ:SCYX) and Keryx (NASDAQ:KERX). He also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Northeastern University Drug Discovery Advisory Board, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Association and the Penn State University Biotechnology Advisory Board.

Prior to joining Cubist, Dr. Gilman served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ActivBiotics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company. Previously, Dr. Gilman worked at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he held a number of senior leadership roles including Vice President and General Manager of the Inflammation Franchise. Prior to Millennium, he was Group Director at Pfizer Central Research, where he was responsible for drug discovery of novel antibacterial agents as well as several other therapeutic areas. Dr. Gilman has also held scientific, business, and academic appointments at Wyeth, Cytogen Corporation, Temple University School of Medicine, and Connecticut College. Dr. Gilman received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in microbiology from Pennsylvania State University, his post-doctoral training at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, and received a B.A. in microbiology from Miami University of Ohio.

About Momenta

Momenta Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company specializing in the detailed structural analysis of complex drugs and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Momenta is applying its technology to the development of generic versions of complex drugs, biosimilar and potentially interchangeable biologics, and to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune indications.