BOSTON, Mass., July 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albireo Limited, a privately held company focused through its operating subsidiary on the development of novel bile acid modulators to treat orphan pediatric liver diseases and other liver and gastrointestinal diseases and disorders, announced the appointment of Thomas A. Shea as Chief Financial Officer.
“We are delighted to welcome Tom to the Albireo team at this important juncture for the company,” said Ron Cooper, Albireo’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Tom’s extensive financial and management experience will make him a key leader as we transition Albireo into a new stage of growth.”
Mr. Shea has over 30 years of public and private financial experience, primarily in the biopharmaceutical industry. He was most recently the Chief Financial Officer at Epirus Biopharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biosimilars company, where he led a successful transition from private to public via a reverse merger completed in 2014. Earlier this year, Albireo announced that it has entered into a definitive share exchange agreement with NASDAQ-traded Biodel Inc. for a transaction designed to create a NASDAQ-listed company focused in orphan pediatric liver diseases. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to the approval of the Biodel stockholders and other customary conditions.
“I am very pleased to join Albireo, as it is doing important work in the pediatric rare disease space,” said Mr. Shea. “I look forward to helping to take the company to the next level.”
Prior to Epirus, Mr. Shea served as the chief financial officer of a number of biopharmaceutical companies, including Euthymics, Neurovance, EBI Life Sciences and Tolerx. Formerly, he was chief financial officer at Cubist Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Merck) for 10 years, playing a leadership role in Cubist’s successful initial public offering.
About Albireo
Albireo Limited is a holding company for Albireo AB, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel bile acid modulators to treat orphan pediatric liver diseases and other liver and gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. Albireo’s clinical pipeline includes two Phase 2 product candidates and one Phase 3 product candidate. Albireo was spun out from AstraZeneca in 2008 and is backed by top-tier life science investors such as Phase4 Ventures, TPG Biotech, TVM Capital Life Science and Aberdeen Asset Management, as well as AstraZeneca.
Albireo Limited is incorporated and registered in England and Wales, and its wholly owned subsidiaries are located in Gothenburg, Sweden and Boston, Massachusetts. For more information on Albireo, please visitwww.albireopharma.com.
