Novan Appoints Chief Financial Officer and Chief Commercial Officer to Leadership Team

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Novan Therapeutics announced today the addition of two executives from the dermatology industry to the company's leadership team.  Richard Peterson has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and Brian Johnson as Chief Commercial Officer.  Mr. Peterson will be responsible for the company's financial operations, investor relations, and other corporate functions.  Mr. Johnson will lead Novan's newly focused commercialization efforts including sales, marketing and managed care for the company's dermatology products. 

Richard Peterson joins Novan after a nearly 20-year career at Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation where he held roles in finance, accounting and business development.  Most recently, Mr. Peterson served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the NYSE-traded company until its acquisition in 2012 by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International for $2.6 billion.  During his time at Medicis, the company achieved tremendous growth in revenue and profitability with a suite of products including Solodyn®, one of the most successful selling acne products.  Prior to joining Medicis, Mr. Peterson was a senior financial auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers.  He currently serves as a Director at Universal Insurance Holdings, Incorporated.

"Novan's success with SB204 has demonstrated the potential of a platform technology that promises to bring sustainable innovation into dermatology as we aggressively expand the pipeline into other indications," said Mr. Peterson.  "I am excited for the opportunity to use my industry experience and financial leadership to create value for the company's shareholders." 

Brian Johnson brings to Novan nearly three decades of marketing and sales leadership at dermatology companies including Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation (Johnson & Johnson's Dermatological Division), Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation and Galderma Laboratories, LLC where he served as Vice President of Prescription Marketing and Chief Digital Officer.  At Galderma, he and his team quadrupled sales by launching category leaders like Epiduo®, Clobex® and Oracea®.  In addition to Epiduo®, throughout his career he participated in the sales and/or marketing of several other leading acne brands including Retin-A®, Dynacin®, and Differin®. 

"It is rare when you are given the opportunity to build something special from the ground up," said Mr. Johnson.  "I am thrilled to be joining the Novan team as we turn the corner towards commercialization of SB204 for the treatment of acne and look forward to helping create a preeminent dermatology company in the United States."

"Brian's track record of navigating commercial organizations through a rapidly changing prescription landscape and Ric's financial success leading a publically traded high-growth dermatology company through to final acquisition greatly strengthens our existing leadership team," added Novan's president, Dr. Nathan Stasko.   

About Novan, Inc.
Novan is a privately-held, clinical stage biotechnology company advancing therapies for skin diseases using drugable nitric oxide.  Nitric oxide, one of the most studied molecules in human physiology, has been shown to exhibit broad anti-microbial activity and to promote vasodilation, regulate inflammation, stimulate tissue repair, and eradicate cancer cells.  Novan's patented Nitricil™ technology overcomes the previous delivery issues with nitric oxide by stably storing the gaseous species as a solid that can be transformed into targeted therapeutics. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated.  Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with pharmaceutical development, clinical trials that may not proceed as intended or produce the results expected, clinical trials that cost more, are less effective and take longer to complete than expected, raw materials and drug supply, changes in regulatory requirements, competition, and financing.

To learn more about Novan Therapeutics, please visit www.novantherapeutics.com.

Contact

Julia Brannan, Pascale Communications on behalf of Novan Therapeutics
(908) 464-2470
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Novan Therapeutics