Ikaria® Appoints Chief Medical Officer

HAMPTON, N.J., April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ikaria, Inc., a critical care company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for critically ill patients, today announced that Joseph Stauffer, D.O., has been appointed Chief Medical Officer.  In this role, Dr. Stauffer will be responsible for all medical, patient safety, risk management, and regulatory activities related to Ikaria's commercialized product, INOMAX® (nitric oxide) for inhalation, as well as future launch products.

"We are delighted to welcome Joe, whose extensive medical leadership experience will be of great benefit to the many aspects of our unique INOMAX offering," commented Daniel Tasse, Chairman and CEO of Ikaria. "We believe his previous experience in pharmaceuticals and at the FDA provide him with a unique opportunity to view our products with an exquisite balance of medical insight, business acumen and regulatory compliance."

Dr. Stauffer most recently held the position of Chief Medical Officer at PharmacoFore, a California-based biopharmaceutical company.  Prior to that, he was Chief Medical Officer at DURECT Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company, and at Alpharma/King Pharmaceuticals.  He began his pharmaceutical career at Abbott Laboratories in 2002, where he was global medical director for its pain portfolio.  Dr. Stauffer also served as a medical officer in the Analgesic Division of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 2000-2002, where he reviewed Investigational New Drug (IND) Applications and New Drug Applications (NDAs) for opiate, non-opiate, anti-inflammatory and novel pain compounds.  He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed residency training in Anesthesiology at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital where he is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. Additionally, he completed his MBA as part of the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Program, a joint degree granted by NYU Stern School of Business, HEC School of Management (Paris) and the London School of Economics and Political Science.  Dr. Stauffer is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, honorably discharged as a Lieutenant Commander after serving eight years as a Naval Medical Officer.  

About Ikaria, Inc.

Ikaria, Inc. is a critical care company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies designed to address the significant needs of critically ill patients. The company's lead product is INOMAX® (nitric oxide) for inhalation, the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of hypoxic respiratory failure associated with pulmonary hypertension in term and near-term infants. It is offered through the INOMAX therapy package, an all-inclusive offering of drug product, drug-delivery system, on-site training and 24/7/365 technical assistance and support.

The INOMAX therapy package also is marketed in Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Japan. The company is investigating additional indications for INOMAX in bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and for inhaled nitric oxide with the INOpulse® DS drug-delivery system as a drug-device combination product in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Ikaria's late-stage pipeline is also comprised of LUCASSIN® (terlipressin), a potential treatment for Hepatorenal Syndrome Type 1; as well as Bioabsorbable Cardiac Matrix (BCM), a potential treatment for preventing cardiac remodeling and subsequent congestive heart failure following acute myocardial infarction. Ikaria is headquartered in Hampton, NJ, with a research facility in Madison, WI, and manufacturing facilities in Port Allen, LA and Madison, WI.  Please visit www.ikaria.com.

Company Contact:
Samina Bari   
Ikaria, Inc.   
(908) 238-6372   
[email protected]

Media Contact:   
Claire Sojda   
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
(212) 827-0020   
[email protected]

SOURCE Ikaria, Inc.