Rare respiratory disease biotech Savara is seeking within the next 18 months to break out from being a clinical company to a commercial one and has hired Braden Parker to help lead the charge into the marketplace.
Parker comes on board as chief commercial officer, primarily focusing on molgramostim. Currently in phase 3 tests, the drug works as a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
Savara says it will in the first of half next year seek an FDA license to treat autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP) with the drug, with a potential launch, if approved, likely coming in late 2025 to 2026. APAP is a rare respiratory disease that leads to air sacs within the lungs being clogged up, which can lead to respiratory failure.
Parker comes on board from another rare-disease-focused biotech in the form of Orchard Therapeutics, which was recently bought out by Kyowa Kirin.
The biopharma earlier this year nabbed an FDA approval for Lenmeldy to treat the rare genetic disease metachromatic leukodystrophy, becoming in the process the world’s most expensive drug at $4.25 million.
The drug had an earlier approval in Europe in 2020 for the same indication under the name Libmeldy.
Parker was responsible for the commercial launch of the med and has a strong rare disease CV, having also served stints at PTC Therapeutics, leading the company’s first U.S. product launch in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as at Celgene and NPS Pharma (Shire), all companies with a rare disease drug focus.
“I am happy to welcome Braden to Savara, particularly as we approach a transformational milestone with the potential approval and launch of molgramostim,” said Matt Pauls, chair and CEO of Savara, in a release.
“Braden is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of building commercial teams, leading successful rare disease product launches and accelerating growth for companies as they transition to the commercial stage. We are thrilled to have him as part of our team and look forward to his contributions.”