WATERTOWN, Mass., July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYRA), a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose and throat diseases, today announced the appointment of Robert Richard, Ph.D., to the position of Senior Vice President of Research and Development. He is a research and development (R&D) veteran who possesses extensive leadership and product development experience in drug delivery and complex combination products. Dr. Richard will oversee development for Lyra’s two product candidates for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis, and lead efforts on platform expansion, including next generation technologies that support new indications.
“I am delighted to welcome Bob to Lyra’s executive leadership team, and we expect he will be instrumental in our product development efforts for clinical and commercial success,” said Maria Palasis, Ph.D., President and CEO of Lyra Therapeutics. “We believe that Bob’s depth of knowledge and experience developing combination products will help us efficiently advance our proprietary XTreo™ platform into new indications, helping to underpin the future growth of our company.”
“I believe Lyra is poised to disrupt the treatment paradigm for chronic rhinosinusitis, and I am excited to be joining the company at this time,” said Robert Richard, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at Lyra Therapeutics. “I believe that the company’s XTreo platform can be leveraged in a number of new indications, helping to create value for Lyra’s shareholders, while at the same time advancing much-needed treatments for underserved chronic rhinosinusitis patients.”
Dr. Richard previously held leadership positions with Anika Therapeutics, C.R. Bard, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson, where he led R&D organizations through numerous product development initiatives from the concept through to commercialization. While leading R&D at the surgical division of C.R. Bard, Dr. Richard oversaw programs that launched over 20 new medical device products based on advanced biomaterials technologies, over a ten-year period. At Boston Scientific, Dr. Richard helped lead the development and launch of the TAXUS™ drug eluting coronary stent. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson where he led the commercialization of DePuy’s MARATHON™ Polyethylene. Most recently, he led the global R&D organization at Anika Therapeutics, where he directed the launch of TACTOSET™.
About Lyra Therapeutics
Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose and throat diseases. The company’s proprietary technology platform, XTreo™, is designed to precisely and consistently deliver medicines directly to the affected tissue for sustained periods with a single administration. The company’s initial product candidates, LYR-210 and LYR-220, are bioresorbable polymeric matrices designed to be administered in a brief, non-invasive, in-office procedure and intended to deliver up to six months of continuous drug therapy to the sinonasal passages for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis, or CRS. The therapeutic embedded within LYR-210 and LYR-220 is mometasone furoate, which is the active ingredient in various FDA-approved drugs and has a well-established efficacy and safety profile. CRS is an inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses which leads to debilitating symptoms and significant morbidities and affects approximately 14 million people in the United States. The company is advancing LYR-210 as a potential preferred alternative to surgery in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial for CRS patients who have failed medical management. In its Phase 1 clinical trial, LYR-210 met its primary safety endpoint, and it was observed that patients generally experienced significant and rapid, clinically meaningful and durable improvement in SNOT-22 scores, an established patient symptom severity scale, through week 25, which was the end of the trial. The company is also developing LYR-220 for use in CRS patients who have an enlarged nasal cavity due to sinus surgery but continue to require treatment to manage CRS symptoms. Beyond CRS, the company believes its XTreo platform has potential applications in other disease areas, which it is actively exploring to further broaden the platform’s therapeutic potential.
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