BOSTON, Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Albireo Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALBO), a rare liver disease company developing novel bile acid modulators, today announced the appointment of Constantine Chinoporos as Chief Business Officer and a member of the Albireo Enterprise Leadership Team. Mr. Chinoporos was most recently at Boston Pharmaceuticals where he was the Chief Business Officer responsible for all business development, new product planning operations and in-licensing of 20 programs over his tenure. He brings 30 years of experience in business development, new product planning operations, corporate development, global licensing and divestitures. In this new role, Mr. Chinoporos will be responsible for creating a forward integration strategy to accelerate Albireo’s growth and maximize the value of our opportunities.
“With recent approvals and a global launch of Bylvay, as well as the continued progression of our pipeline assets, we have a strong foundation with multiple opportunities. Constantine’s deep strategic and partnering expertise in the biopharmaceutical arena is an invaluable addition as we develop a forward integration strategy that drives growth and value for Albireo,” said Ron Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Albireo.
In the last decade, Mr. Chinoporos also held senior strategic roles at Sanofi, Genzyme and Eli Lilly. Most recently at Boston Pharmaceuticals, he led all business development and new product planning functions. Over six years, Mr. Chinoporos in-licensed 20 programs, which included a novel collaboration structure with GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to that, Mr. Chinoporos served in various corporate and business development leadership roles leading global teams for 14 years at Sanofi and Genzyme, and completing notable transactions. Before Genzyme, Mr. Chinoporos served in various capacities at Eli Lilly, including roles in corporate finance & investment banking and alliance management.
“I am excited to be joining Albireo at this pivotal time when Bylvay is now globally available with the potential to become a billion-dollar product by the end of the decade, while at the same time, there is also great opportunity with earlier stage products that could serve the large adult and viral disease markets,” said Constantine Chinoporos, Chief Business Officer of Albireo. “The corporate value of the company with a globally commercialized drug, a strategic pipeline where partnership opportunities exist, and a talented global team, sets Albireo up to realize the strategic business plans through the decade and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Mr. Chinoporos will receive inducement grants of stock options exercisable for an aggregate of 23,000 shares of Albireo’s common stock and restricted stock units representing the opportunity to acquire 5,000 shares of Albireo’s common stock. The exercise price for the inducement grants will be $22.98, the closing price of Albireo’s common stock as of December 1, 2021, and were granted as inducements material to Mr. Chinoporos’ acceptance of employment with Albireo in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The inducement grants have a 10-year term and vest over a four-year period, subject to Mr. Chinoporos’ continued service with Albireo through the applicable vesting dates. The vesting schedule for the inducement grants is 25 percent on the one-year anniversary of Mr. Chinoporos’ start date with Albireo and 75 percent in 12 equal quarterly installments thereafter. The inducement grants are subject to the terms and conditions of Albireo’s 2020 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan.
About Albireo
Albireo Pharma is a rare disease company focused on the development of novel bile acid modulators to treat rare pediatric and adult liver diseases. Albireo’s lead product, Bylvay, was approved by the U.S. FDA as the first drug for the treatment of pruritus in all types of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), and it is also being developed to treat other rare pediatric cholestatic liver diseases with Phase 3 trials in Alagille syndrome and biliary atresia, as well as an Open-label Extension (OLE) study for PFIC. In Europe, Bylvay has been approved for the treatment of PFIC and has been submitted for pricing and reimbursement approval. The Company is progressing a Phase 1 clinical trial for A3907 to advance development in adult cholestatic liver disease, with IND-enabling studies moving ahead with A2342 for viral and cholestatic liver disease. Albireo was spun out from AstraZeneca in 2008 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with its key operating subsidiary in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Boston Business Journal named Albireo one of the 2019 and 2020 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts. For more information on Albireo, please visit www.albireopharma.com.
