Accera, Inc. Expands Senior Management Team to Advance Clinical Studies & Commercialization for Axona®

Former Novartis Consumer Health Executive Joseph Jerkovich to Serve as Director of Marketing

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Oct 24, 2012, 10:17 ET

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Accera, Inc., a privately-held, commercial-stage, healthcare company focused on the discovery and development of innovative clinical applications to address acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases, announced today the appointment of Joseph Jerkovich as Director of Marketing.

Mr. Jerkovich will help spearhead the company's commercialization efforts of Axona in the US, utilizing his 20 years of successful sales and marketing experience. Holger Kunze, president and CEO of Accera, remarked, "We are delighted to have Joe join our team during this time of growth. Because there has been a lack of new therapies available for Alzheimer's patients for many years, Joe's insights will be an invaluable resource as we advance our marketing efforts and clinical development of Axona. Because of Axona's unique mechanism of action, it nicely complements the currently-approved medications available by providing a controlled release of an alternative energy source for compromised brain cells."

"It's exciting to have an opportunity to join a rapidly growing team committed to meeting the needs of the significantly underserved Alzheimer's community," said Mr. Jerkovich. "Axona is backed by strong science and I'm confident we'll be able to increase adoption of this product as we expand our sales and clinical efforts."

Prior to joining Accera, Mr. Jerkovich served as head of the professional marketing group at Novartis Consumer Health where he successfully built the structure and integrity of the department. Before that, he worked for Johnson & Johnson's Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Group for the majority of his career.

Mr. Jerkovich began his career as a sales representative and eventually advanced to a number of managerial positions across multiple commercial disciplines, including sales leadership, marketing leadership, market research, forecasting, government contracting and managed health care (MHC) contract strategy. As he progressed in his career, Mr. Jerkovich helped launch nearly a dozen products.

He earned his B.S. in Business Management from the University of Delaware.

Accera recently announced a partnership with Nestle Health Science to help further support clinical development and commercialization of Axona.

About Axona^®

Axona is a prescription-only medical food intended for the clinical dietary management of the metabolic processes associated with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. For more information about Axona, please visit www.about-axona.com or ask your physician.

About Accera, Inc.

Accera, Inc. is a privately held commercial-stage healthcare company that developed and now markets Axona in the US. Accera is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of other clinical applications for Axona and AC-1204 in acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. For more information about Accera, please visit www.accerapharma.com.

Contacts:

Accera, Inc.

(303) 999-3705

Bill Poncy

VP Commercial Development

[email protected]

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

(212) 827-0020

Andrew Mielach

[email protected]

Claire Sojda

[email protected]