Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Appoints New Leadership Team: Armando Anido Named Chairman and CEO, Terri Sebree Named President

RADNOR, Pa., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative transdermal cannabinoid treatments, today named two leading industry veterans with track records of success in patch and gel transdermal delivery to lead the company. Armando Anido will serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and Terri Sebree will serve as president. Mr. Anido and Ms. Sebree will lead the first and only transdermal cannabinoid therapeutic company as it prepares to initiate Phase 1 clinical studies in 2015 on ZYN001, a proprietary prodrug of THC transdermal patch, and ZYN002, a proprietary cannabidiol (CBD) transdermal gel.

Mr. Anido has more than 30 years of executive, operational and commercial leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to Zynerba, Mr. Anido served as chief executive officer of two publicly traded companies. Most recently, he was the chief executive officer of NuPathe, which was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals in February 2014. At NuPathe, he led the company through FDA approval of its lead product, Zecuity^®, the first transdermal patch for migraine, to pre-launch before successfully selling the company to Teva.  He also served as president and CEO of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, where under his leadership, sales grew from $42 million in 2005 to more than $260 million in 2011, driven by the rapid growth of Testim^® gel, and market capitalization increased from $200 million to more than $900 million.

Ms. Sebree offers more than 30 years of executive, development and operational experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in CNS product development including epilepsy, pain, depression and schizophrenia. She has completed more than 10 regulatory submissions and approvals of new pharmaceutical products, including transdermal patch and gel products. Prior to Zynerba, Ms. Sebree co-founded and served as President of NuPathe where she successfully led the effort to develop, achieve regulatory approval and complete manufacturing of the company's lead product, Zecuity. Previously, Ms. Sebree served as senior vice president, development of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals where she led the Testim gel development and approval program.

"Armando and Terri both have demonstrated the ability to rapidly grow pharmaceutical companies and are uniquely experienced in leading the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of both patch and gel transdermal pharmaceuticals," said Philip Wagenheim, former chairman and current board member of Zynerba. "We are confident that these high-caliber leaders will strategically guide the company as it enters clinical development of these novel transdermal candidates in the coming months."

"As the first and only transdermal cannabinoid company, Zynerba is well positioned as it develops two highly innovative therapeutic treatments for the millions of patients who suffer from chronic and debilitating diseases such as fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, chronic cancer pain, epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis," said Armando Anido, chairman and CEO of Zynerba Pharmaceuticals. "These novel synthetically produced candidates may offer unique advantages by delivering drug through the skin and into the bloodstream. Terri and I believe that these proprietary treatments, combined with a large population of underserved patients, offer significant promise, and we look forward to advancing our pipeline."

About Zynerba Pharmaceuticals

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the development of innovative transdermal cannabinoid treatments for patients with high unmet medical needs using modern drug delivery technology and appropriate regulatory pathways. Zynerba is developing two therapeutic candidates based on proprietary transdermal technologies that, if successfully developed, may allow sustained, consistent and controlled delivery of therapeutic levels of cannabinoids. Transdermal delivery reduces adverse effects associated with oral dosing. ZYN001 will be studied in fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain and chronic cancer pain utilizing a synthetically manufactured prodrug of THC in a transdermal patch to deliver THC through the skin and into the bloodstream. Zynerba expects to initiate ZYN001 Phase 1 clinical studies in 2Q 2015. ZYN002 will be studied in epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis, utilizing a proprietary gel to deliver synthetically manufactured cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid, through the skin and into the bloodstream. Zynerba expects to initiate ZYN002 Phase 1 clinical studies in 3Q 2015. Learn more at www.zynerba.com and follow the company on Twitter at @ZynerbaPharma.

SOURCE Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc.