Aratana Therapeutics Names Dr. Ernst Heinen to Senior Management Team

KANSAS CITY, Kan. and NEW YORK, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aratana Therapeutics, an animal health company developing innovative medicines for companion animals, has announced the appointment of Dr. Ernst Heinen as the company's Head of Drug Evaluation and Development.

Dr. Heinen joins Aratana after a twenty-two year career in positions of increasing responsibility at Bayer Animal Health. In his most recent position as Vice President of R&D and Veterinary Technical Services, Companion Animals, his leadership helped Bayer create a number of innovative programs that resulted in double-digit growth of strategic flagship products. He is the author of dozens of scientific articles, abstracts, and presentations focused on the animal health industry. Dr. Heinen also serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Animal Health Innovation.

"We are extremely pleased to add additional professionals of Dr. Heinen's caliber and experience to the senior management team," notes Aratana's CEO, Dr. Linda Rhodes. "His experience further enables Aratana's business model -- finding, developing and bringing new products to companion animals and their owners."

Dr. Heinen received a veterinary degree and a DVM degree in veterinary microbiology from the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen Veterinary School, Germany, and became a certified specialist in veterinary microbiology.

"Innovation has always been at the core of my approach to animal health, so the highly novel nature of Aratana's business model to developing companion animal products is very appealing, along with the level of expertise, commitment, and enthusiasm among the company's staff and stakeholders," Dr. Heinen explains. "I am very excited to be part of a team that I believe will be instrumental in creating innovative drugs for companion animals."

About Aratana Therapeutics

Aratana Therapeutics is an animal health drug development company uniquely positioned to deliver high quality new medicines for unmet needs in animal health. Aratana licenses and develops proprietary, patent-protected compounds acquired from human pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and then develops strategies to maximize the value of the programs. For more information, please visit www.aratanatherapeutics.com.

Contact: Dr. Linda Rhodes, CEO ([email protected]), (913) 951-2132

SOURCE Aratana Therapeutics