|
Our Mission
We are a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of late-stage (PH II and PH III) prescription drugs for
gastrointestinal disorders, specifically, hemorrhoids, anal fissures and fecal
incontinence.
We believe that hemorrhoids, anal fissures and fecal incontinence each represent
a significant unmet medical need.
While there are approximately 13 million Americans suffering from hemorrhoids, 9
million from fecal incontinence and over 4 million from anal fissures, we are
not aware of any U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved
prescription treatments for these conditions
Our product candidate portfolio consists of three late-stage drugs intended to
treat these conditions, for which, to our knowledge, there are no currently
approved prescription products in the US:
- VEN 309, iferanserin cream for the treatment of hemorrhoids, a new chemical
entity, or NCE, ready to enter PH III studies
- VEN 307,Diltiazem cream a commonly used drug used orally for hypertension and
angina, formulated topically for the treatment of anal fissures, ready to enter
Phase III studies
- VEB 308, Phenylephrine gel a common ingredient in cough and cold medicines,
formulated topically for the treatment of fecal incontinence ; ready to enter PH
IIB studies
About Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are a common anal disorder characterized by bleeding, itching, pain,
swelling, tenderness, and difficulty with defecating. Hemorrhoids are pathologic
dilatations of the normal vascular beds in the anal and rectal regions. Although
the mechanism for hemorrhoid formation is unclear, progressive occlusion of
venous exit vessels (as can occur in straining during defecation, heavy lifting,
and pregnancy) is thought to produce stretching of vessels and vascular stasis.
As hemorrhoids worsen, the trapped blood forms piles (protruding skin folds
filled with static and thrombosed blood) initially above the line that marks the
end of the rectum and the beginning of the anal canal (internal hemorrhoids) and
then below the line (external hemorrhoids). WE are not aware of any prescription
products currently approved for the treatment of hemorrhoids. Products currently
used for hemorrhoids do not affect the underlying causes and provide only
symptomatic relief. Patients with persistent symptoms, especially bleeding,
progress invasive procedures, such as rubber band ligation, which involves
banding the internal hemorrhoid for 4 to 7 days.
About Anal Fissure
An anal fissure is a crack in the skin of the anal canal. Typical symptoms are
severe pain and bleeding with or after bowel movements. Hypertonia, which is an
increase in tightness of muscle tone of the internal anal sphincter, contributes
to chronic anal fissures. There are no approved pharmacologic products for the
treatment of anal fissure of which we are aware. For severe pain, surgery often
is performed to reduce of the internal anal sphincter by either manual
dilatation or lateral sphincterotomy. Both procedures successfully promote
healing of anal fissure but have been associated with fecal incontinence.
About Fecal Incontinence
Continence of solid stool is maintained by the internal and external anal
sphincters. Damage to the anal sphincters can disrupt continence. Specific
causes of fecal incontinence include obstetrical injury; prior anorectal
surgery, such as ileal pouch anal anastomosis; fecal impaction; sphincter
trauma; cancer; and neurologic disease. To our knowledge there are no approved
products for the treatment of fecal incontinence. The most common surgical
procedure for fecal incontinence is sphincteroplasty for patients with physical
injury to the anal sphincter, but success rates for this type of surgery are low
and most of the benefits decrease with time.
Our Officers and Directors
Russell H. Ellison, M.D., M.Sc.
Director, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Ellison joined us as a director, Acting Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer in June 2010. From July 2007, to
January 2010, Dr. Ellison has served as Executive Vice President of Paramount
Biosciences LLC, a global pharmaceutical development and healthcare investment
firm. From October 2005 until June 2007, Dr. Ellison served as the Vice
President of Clinical Development of Fibrogen, Inc., a privately held
biotechnology company. From August 2002 to December 2004, Dr. Ellison served as
Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Sanofi-Synthelabo,
USA, a pharmaceutical company. From May 1997 to August 2002, Dr. Ellison served
as Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Hoffman-La
Roche, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. Dr. Ellison also serves as a director of
CorMedix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, and several privately held development
stage biotechnology companies, and served as director of Cougar Biotechnology
Inc. an oncology company. Dr. Ellison holds an M.D. from the University of
British Columbia and an M.Sc. (with distinction) from The London School of
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Thomas Rowland
Director
Mr. Rowland served as the Company’s Acting President
from May to June, 2010. He originally joined Ventrus Biosciences in April 2007,
and was employed through May 2009 as its Chief Executive Officer. Prior to
Ventrus, Mr. Rowland was Founder and Principal of his own consulting firm,
consulting to various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the areas of
business development, marketing and launch preparation. Rowland started
consulting in 2006 after serving as Vice President of the Gastroenterology and
Women’s Health Business Unit at Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw
all commercial operations for the over $250 million and 250 person unit. Prior
to being named Vice President, Rowland successfully led the turnaround of the
Gastrointestinal franchise, returning the franchise to positive sales growth,
record sales and profitability. Rowland’s initial work in the gastroenterology
therapeutic area started when he joined Scandipharm, Inc. in 1998 as Director of
Marketing to assist in the company turnaround which resulted in the sale of the
company to Axcan Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Rowland started his career in 1990 at UCB
Pharma, Inc. where he spent over eight years in various positions of increasing
responsibility including sales, market research and product management.
Throughout his career, Mr. Rowland has participated in numerous successful new
product and line extension launches. In addition, in senior management roles, he
has contributed to several product, franchise and company turnarounds. Mr.
Rowland earned his B.S. in Finance from Metropolitan State University in Denver,
Colorado in 1989.
Joseph Felder, M.D.
Director
Dr. Felder has been a gastroenterologist since
1992 after having completed his post-doctoral training and fellowship at Lenox
Hill Hospital in New York City. He is currently in private practice in
Manhattan. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the City University
of New York and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio
in 1987. He practices out of Lenox Hill Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of
the New York University School of Medicine, where he is an adjunct and attending
physician in the departments of Medicine and Gastroenterology. His
responsibilities there include extensive teaching obligations. He has done
significant clinical research in gastroenterology, specifically in the subject
of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and is published in this field in various
international journals as well as textbooks. He lectures on this subject matter
as well. He is a co-chairman of the medical advisory board of the Crohn’s and
Colitis Foundation of America in New York. His interests are in ongoing clinical
research and product development.
Richard M. Cohen
Director
Since 2002, Mr. Cohen has served as a Managing
Director of Encore/Novation, a company that purchases and securitizes settlement
assets. He also served as Chief Financial Officer of Dune Energy, an oil and gas
exploration and production company, from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Cohen is a member of
the Board of Directors of Dune Energy, an energy exploration and development
company, a member of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of Rodman &
Renshaw, a public investment bank and a member of the Board of Directors of
CorMedix, Inc., a public pharmaceutical company. Mr. Cohen holds a C.P.A. from
the State of New York, received his M.B.A. from Stanford University, and
received his B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Myron Z. Holubiak
Director
Mr. Holubiak currently serves as President of
1-800-DOCTORS, Inc., a position he has held since May, 2007. Mr. Holubiak is the
former President of Roche Laboratories, Inc., USA, a major research-based
pharmaceutical company, a position he held from December 1998 to August 2001. He
held many sales and marketing positions at Roche Laboratories in his 19 year
tenure. Mr. Holubiak was a director and the President and Chief Operating
Officer of HealthSTAR Communications, Inc, the largest, private health care
marketing communications company in the U.S. from November 2003 to April 2007,
and he served as HealthSTAR Group’s President, Field Level Marketing Group, from
August 2002 to October 2003. Mr. Holubiak served on the Board of Trustees of the
Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Foundation in 2000 and 2001. Since September 2002
he has served on the Board of Directors of BioScrip, Inc., a specialty pharmacy
company. Mr. Holubiak previously served on the Board of Directors of Nastech,
Inc., a biotechnology based pharmaceutical company now called mdRNA, Inc. Mr.
Holubiak is also on the Board of Directors of the Children of Chernobyl Relief
and Development Foundation. Mr. Holubiak received his B.S. in Molecular Biology
and Biophysics from the University of Pittsburgh.
David J. Barrett
Chief Financial Officer
From April 2006 to September 2009, Mr. Barrett served as Chief Financial Officer of Neuro-Hitech, Inc., a company
focused on developing, marketing and distributing branded and generic
pharmaceutical products. From September 2003 to April 2006, Mr. Barrett was the
Chief Financial Officer /Vice President of Finance of Overture Asset Managers
and Overture Financial Services, which, at the time, was a start-up asset
management firm that assembled investment products and platforms to distribute
turnkey and unbundled investment solutions to financial intermediaries and
institutional investors. From1999 to 2003, Mr. Barrett was employed as a Manager
at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Mr. Barrett received his B.S. in Accounting and
Economics in May of 1998 and his M.S. in Accounting in May of 1999 from the
University of Florida. He is a certified public accountant
Useful Links
The links below provide what we believe is useful information about the
conditions we seek to address. These links are provided for convenience only and
the inclusion of a link does not indicate an endorsement by Ventrus Biosciences
of any third party or any third-party website. In addition, linked websites are
not under the control of Ventrus Biosciences, and Ventrus Biosciences is not
responsible for their content.
American
College of Gastroenterology
American
Gastroenterological Association
American
Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
International
Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
|
