Cocrystal Pharma Appoints Jeffrey Meckler as Chief Executive Officer
BOTHELL, WA and ATLANTA, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/21/15 -- Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. (OTCQB: COCP) , a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel antiviral therapeutics for human diseases, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed board member Jeffrey Meckler to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective October 1st. Mr. Meckler had been serving as Cocrystal Pharma's Interim CEO since March 31, 2015.
"Jeffrey is an industry veteran and over the past few months, his leadership has helped transform Cocrystal into an efficient clinical development company. He has integrated the two merged companies into one efficient organization that is now well positioned to drive additional growth," Dr. Raymond F. Schinazi, Cocrystal Pharma's Chairman said. "Under his leadership, fueled by his mix of finance/business, operations, market research and commercialization experience, he will drive the corporate development activities, build strong pipelines and add value for shareholders."
Mr. Meckler said, "I am delighted to be part of a highly committed leadership team that will help execute the next phase of the Company's growth and transformation into a leading clinical stage company. I am honored to work closely with our distinguished board of directors and scientific founders in building Cocrystal into a premier biopharmaceutical company and look forward to working with the team to advance novel antiviral agents through clinical development."
Mr. Meckler has over 25 years of experience in life science companies, including 17 years at Pfizer Inc. in a variety of positions, including Manufacturing, Systems, Market Research and Corporate Finance. Mr. Meckler currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for Retrophin, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of catastrophic diseases and on the Board of Directors for QLT Inc., an ophthalmic orphan drug company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Meckler has also served as Managing Director of The Andra Group, providing consulting services to the life sciences industry. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Management and an M.S. in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and a J.D. from the School of Law at Fordham University.
About Cocrystal Pharma
Cocrystal is a pharmaceutical company seeking to discover novel antiviral therapeutics as treatments for serious and/or chronic viral diseases. Cocrystal employs unique technologies and Nobel Prize winning expertise to create first- and best-in-class antiviral drugs. These technologies, including our nucleoside chemistry expertise and market-focused approach to drug discovery are designed to efficiently deliver small molecule therapeutics that are safe, effective and convenient to administer. The company has identified promising, preclinical stage compounds for hepatitis infections, and analogs that are effective against noroviruses. Cocrystal has previously received strategic investments from Teva Pharmaceuticals, OPKO Health (OPK), Dr. Raymond Schinazi, Brace Pharmaceutical, LLC, and The Frost Group. For further information about Cocrystal, please refer to www.cocrystalpharma.com, or connect with the Company on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.
Contact:
MDM Worldwide
David Zazoff
212-643-0417
Source: Cocrystal Pharma, Inc.
Released September 21, 2015