NEWTON, Mass., Oct. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNA), a late-stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral enzyme therapeutics to treat patients with rare and severe metabolic and kidney disorders, today announced the appointment of Ann Miller, M.D., to its board of directors.

“Ann is an experienced and successful industry executive, who has built multiple high-performing commercial teams and successfully delivered blockbuster therapies to patients across a range of therapeutic areas,” said Louis Brenner, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Allena Pharmaceuticals. “She will bring her extensive commercial experience to the Allena team, as we continue advancing our Phase 3 URIROX program and turn our attention to preparing for the potential launch of reloxaliase for enteric hyperoxaluria. We look forward to Ann’s insights as we work to build a fully-integrated, patient-focused commercial organization, and deliver on the promise of reloxaliase and our broader portfolio of oral enzyme therapeutics for people with rare and severe metabolic and kidney diseases.”

Dr. Miller has launched and grown multiple blockbuster products and built leading franchises over the course of her career. Most recently, she spent six years at Sanofi, ultimately serving as Vice President, Marketing, where she was selected to lead a corporate-wide initiative on Marketing Excellence. Prior to Sanofi, Dr. Miller spent two years as Senior Vice President at Eisai, where she led the Pharmaceutical Services and Primary Care and Specialty Business units, including the blockbuster franchises Aricept® and Aciphex®. Earlier in her career, Dr. Miller worked at Amgen, where she contributed to building the Global Marketing function, including serving as Executive Director, North American Commercial Operations and Executive Director, Global Marketing, and provided commercialization and life cycle management oversight for key products, including Neulasta® and Vectibix®. Before that, Dr. Miller spent 16 years at Merck & Co., where she held a series of roles of increasing responsibility, including brand leadership for Fosamax®, Mevacor®, and Zocor®. Dr. Miller currently serves on the board of Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Puma Biotechnology. She holds both her B.A., with honors, and her M.D. from Duke University.

“I am pleased to join Allena’s board of directors,” said Ann Miller, M.D. “Based on the clinical data generated to date, I believe reloxaliase could usher in a new era in the treatment of enteric hyperoxaluria, offering patients a targeted, first-in-class therapeutic option. I look forward to working closely with the Allena team to develop an efficient and effective strategy for delivering reloxaliase to patients, and to fully maximize its potential to help patients.”

In conjunction with Dr. Miller’s appointment, Allena announced that founding board member Bob Tepper, M.D., a partner at Third Rock Ventures and founding member of the company’s board of directors since 2011, has resigned from the Allena Board.

“On behalf of the entire Allena team, I want to thank Bob for his many years of service,” Dr. Brenner continued. “His support and guidance was critical to launching Allena, and his insights have enabled us to translate the promise of our oral enzyme technology platform into a growing pipeline of novel, oral enzyme therapeutic candidates for people living with rare and severe metabolic diseases.”

About Allena Pharmaceuticals

Allena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first-in-class, oral enzyme therapeutics to treat patients with rare and severe metabolic and kidney disorders. Allena’s lead product candidate, reloxaliase, is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical program for the treatment of enteric hyperoxaluria, a metabolic disorder characterized by markedly elevated urinary oxalate levels and commonly associated with kidney stones, chronic kidney disease and other serious kidney disorders. Allena is also developing ALLN-346, currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial, for the treatment of hyperuricemia in the setting of gout and advanced chronic kidney disease.