Intarcia Appoints Raymond Keane Vice President, General Counsel, And Chief Legal Officer

BOSTON, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Raymond T. Keane, Esq. to the position of Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer. In this newly created position, Mr. Keane will report directly to Kurt Graves, Intarcia Chairman, President, and CEO. In his new role, Mr. Keane will play an important part in the growth and development of the company as an integrated biopharmaceutical enterprise, and specifically in the company's efforts to advance its lead candidate through the FREEDOM Phase 3 clinical trial program and on toward global commercialization in type 2 diabetes.

"Ray is a great talent who will be an invaluable contributor to our business goals and a key advisor to both our senior leadership team and our Board of Directors as we rapidly advance our business," said Mr. Graves. "In this new position of General Counsel, I see Ray as a sort of 'Renaissance Man' due to his uncommon breadth of insight and the versatility of his skills. It's that sort of transformational thinking that helps create the forward strength of Intarcia, and it is absolutely consistent with how we've strengthened and built up our entire leadership team this year. Although a Chief Legal Officer is not a function where these attributes are typically seen, it is one where I do not want to see them absent. We are very excited Ray has joined our team."

Throughout his career, Mr. Keane has participated in the global launch of eight small molecule and biologic therapies, has led corporate diligence that resulted in raising more than $700 million, and has built both U.S. and European legal groups from the ground up. He also provided legal leadership throughout the evolution of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals from a research and development platform to a fully integrated global commercial organization, and worked his way up to being Chief Counsel to the head of global marketing at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Before joining Intarcia, Mr. Keane served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals. Prior to ARIAD, he contributed for 20 years at levels of increasing responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS). Mr. Keane's tenure at BMS began as an Assistant Counsel in corporate litigation and ultimately ascended to Senior Counsel, Worldwide Medicine. In this latter position, he had legal responsibility for the global commercialization of three new drugs/biologics and legal oversight of global marketing strategy, launch campaigns, corporate communications, healthcare professional interactions, and worldwide strategic development. Before joining BMS, Mr. Keane was an associate with the law firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, and was also an associate with Martin, Clearwater and Bell. He received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his B.A. in Economics from Fordham University.

About ITCA 650
ITCA 650 (a once- or twice-yearly continuous subcutaneous delivery of exenatide) is being developed by Intarcia for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The investigational therapy employs Intarcia's proprietary technology platform involving a matchstick-size, miniature osmotic pump that is inserted subcutaneously to provide continuous and consistent drug therapy, and the company's proprietary formulation technology, which maintains stability of therapeutic proteins and peptides at human body temperatures for extended periods of time.

Data from Intarcia's ITCA 650 Phase 2 program have demonstrated significant and sustained reductions in HbA1c and body weight over 48 weeks of treatment with a marked reduction in the GI adverse events typically associated with the self-injection products in this class. ITCA 650 is an investigational new therapy and is not currently approved by any regulatory authority. Exenatide, the active agent in ITCA 650, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist currently marketed globally as twice-daily and once-weekly self-injection therapies for type 2 diabetes. Upon approval, ITCA 650 would represent the first injection-free GLP-1 therapy that can deliver up to a full year of treatment from a single placement. Intarcia's robust intellectual property portfolio protects ITCA 650 through 2031.

About Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.
Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to enhance treatment outcomes by optimizing and improving the efficacy, continuous administration and tolerability of drug therapies. In addition, delivering medicines just once or twice yearly virtually ensures patient adherence and compliance, which is very poor in most chronic diseases. Intarcia's drug development expertise and competitive edge are demonstrated by its abilities to stabilize proteins and peptides at above-body temperature and to deliver them in a constant and consistent manner via Intarcia's proprietary technology platform. Intarcia is pursuing a Phase 3-stage development program for type 2 diabetes and has additional programs ongoing for weight regulation to control obesity. For more information on the Company, please visit www.intarcia.com.

Intarcia and its logo are registered trademarks of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.

SOURCE Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.