Omeros Appoints Thomas A. Mitro as Vice President, Sales and Marketing

SEATTLE, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous system, today announced the appointment of Thomas A. Mitro as vice president, sales and marketing.

Mr. Mitro has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, spanning sales and marketing as well as business development.  Prior to joining Omeros, Mr. Mitro served from 2002 until 2012 as vice president, sales and marketing at ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he oversaw the building of ISTA's commercial infrastructure and launch of five eye care products. When ISTA was acquired by Bausch & Lomb in June of 2012, ISTA was the third largest branded prescription eye care business in the United States.  Before ISTA, Mr. Mitro served for over 20 years in various positions with Allergan, Inc., including vice president, skin care; vice president, business development; and vice president, e-business.  Mr. Mitro received his B.S. from Miami University.

"I am excited to join Omeros' impressive management team and to help advance the Company's products to market, starting with OMS302 for lens replacement surgery," stated Mr. Mitro.  "With two successful Phase 3 clinical trials, Omeros has a variety of options to commercialize OMS302, including going alone, partnering and co-promoting.  I believe that OMS302 will be widely used by ophthalmologists with the potential to generate significant revenues, and I look forward to contributing to its commercial success."

"We are very pleased to have Tom join Omeros as we prepare to launch OMS302," said Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., Omeros' chairman and chief executive officer. "We are building an efficient commercialization strategy that can be targeted and levered to maximize success. Tom's years of experience in eye care – building industry-leading ophthalmic franchises – will be valuable to us as we refine and execute our strategy to deliver on OMS302's market potential."

About Omeros Corporation
Omeros is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous system. The Company's most clinically advanced product candidates are derived from its proprietary PharmacoSurgery™ platform designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients undergoing a wide range of surgical and medical procedures. Omeros has four ongoing clinical development programs. Omeros may also have the near-term capability, through its GPCR program, to add a large number of new drug targets and their corresponding compounds to the market. Behind its clinical candidates and GPCR platform, Omeros is building a diverse pipeline of protein and small-molecule preclinical programs targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and central nervous system disorders.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. These statements include, but are not limited to, OMS302's rate of adoption by ophthalmologic surgeons; OMS302's ability to generate significant revenue; the ability of OMS302's commercialization strategy to maximize success; and that Omeros may have capability, through its GPCR program, to add a large number of new drug targets and their corresponding compounds to the market. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. Omeros' actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2012. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, even if new information becomes available in the future.

SOURCE Omeros Corporation