Correvio Pharma Corp. announced that Mark H.N. Corrigan, MD, a current member of the company's Board of Directors, has been named the company next Chief Executive Officer. William Hunter, MD, after a successful 6-year tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer, will transition out of his current role by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Dr. Hunter will remain a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Corrigan is a seasoned life sciences executive who brings to Correvio nearly 30 years of pharmaceutical research, development and regulatory experience in both the U.S. and international markets. He has been involved in the successful development and approval of numerous branded drugs during his career, including Zyvox(r), Rescriptor(r), Corvert(r), Mirapex(r), Lunesta(r), Camptosar(r), Xalatan(r) and Xopenex(r), among others.

Prior to joining Correvio's Board in 2015, Dr. Corrigan served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Zalicus Inc. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Sepracor Inc. (now Sunovion Pharmaceuticals). Prior to joining Sepracor, Dr. Corrigan spent 10 years with Pharmacia &Upjohn Inc., culminating as Group Vice President of Global Clinical Research and Experimental Medicine. He currently serves on the Boards of multiple life science companies, including Novelion Therapeutics, Nabriva Therapeutics AG, and Tremeau Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Corrigan previously served on the Board of Cubist Pharmaceuticals prior to their acquisition by Merck. In addition to the CEO succession plan, Correvio announced that Justin Renz, Chief Financial Officer of Correvio, will also assume the responsibilities of President and Vanda De Cian, MD, will join the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr. De Cian will serve as a member of the Nominating, Governance and Compensation Committees.

Dr. De Cian brings to Correvio 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry where she has held leadership roles at several European and multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Dr. De Cian has participated in the development and successful launch and commercialization of several branded drugs, including Mycobutin(r), Foscarnet(r), Vistide(r), Zyvox(r) and Rescriptor(r). In addition to her medical and technical qualifications, Dr. De Cian brings an extensive knowledge of the drug development process, combined with a deep understanding of effective project management and the commercialization process.

Most recently, she has provided commercial and strategic consultancy services to a variety of life science companies through Helios DCV. Prior to Helios, Dr. De Cian served as Vice President, Corporate Drug Development at Chiesi. Before joining Chiesi, she provided consultancy services for research and development process improvement for UCB and Schering Plough Corp.