Cempra Pharmaceuticals Names Mark W. Hahn as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Cempra Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the appointment of Mark W. Hahn as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The addition of Hahn, who has over 25 years of experience as a financial executive in biotechnology and high technology companies, comes at a time when Cempra Pharmaceuticals is making significant progress with its two clinical-stage anti-infective programs, the next-generation oral and intravenous macrolide, CEM-101, and the oral anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) drug TAKSTA™ (formerly CEM-102).

"Cempra is rapidly maturing as a discovery and clinical development company," said Prabhavathi Fernandes, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Cempra.  "Our leading next-generation macrolide, CEM-101, is about to enter Phase 2 clinical trials with its oral form for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and the intravenous form of CEM-101 will enter Phase 1 trials by mid-year.  TAKSTA has completed Phase 2 trials in acute bacterial skin structure infections and we are preparing for its pivotal trials for this indication.  Cempra is at a point in its development where Mark's financial acumen and broad CFO experience will be valuable to the company going forward."

Prior to joining Cempra Pharmaceuticals, Hahn was CFO of Athenix Corp, a leading agricultural biotechnology company where he led the company in their $400 million merger with Bayer CropScience. Mark was CFO for a number of growing technology companies including Buildlinks, Inc. and Charles & Colvard, Ltd. where he participated in the growth of the firm from three to 74 employees and spearheaded that company's IPO. He began his career at Ernst & Young following graduation from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree in Accounting and Finance.

About Cempra Pharmaceuticals

Founded in 2006, Cempra Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibacterials to address critical medical needs. Two lead products, both in late-stage clinical trials, address the urgent and increasing need for new treatments targeting drug-resistant bacterial infections in the hospital and in the community. Cempra is well-funded and is committed to developing commercially and medically differentiated and novel products that reduce development risk and provide a high financial return. The company is also utilizing its proprietary compound library and chemistry technology to develop novel macrolides without antibacterial activity for non-antibiotic uses such as COPD, chronic inflammatory and GI disorders. Additional information about Cempra can be found at www.cempra.com.

SOURCE Cempra Pharmaceuticals