SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 6, 2013) - Vital Therapies®, Inc. (VTI), a biopharmaceutical company developing a cell-based therapy targeting the treatment of acute liver failure, today announced recent expansion of the company's executive team.
Michael Swanson has joined VTI as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, bringing more than 20 years of experience in senior financial positions in public and private life sciences companies. Mr. Swanson has served as Chief Financial Officer at Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Prometheus Laboratories Inc., and Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc. He also served as Director of Finance of the Fisher Scientific Group, Inc. and its parent, The Henley Group, Inc. He began his career with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP as a Certified Public Accountant. Aron Stern, the company's founding Chief Financial Officer, has now become VTI's Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary.
Andrew Henry has joined VTI as Vice President of Clinical Operations. Mr. Henry has 23 years of experience managing clinical trials in life science companies with roles at Schering-Plough Oncology, Novartis Oncology and MedImmune, the biologics division of Astra Zeneca. Most recently, he served at MedImmune as Senior Director of Global Clinical Operational Strategy and as Senior Director of Clinical Trial Management. He has overseen large departments with more than 30 compounds in development and annual budgets exceeding $375 million. At VTI, Mr. Henry is responsible for global implementation of the company's clinical program.
Andrea Loewen has joined VTI as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality. Ms. Loewen has 24 years of experience in regulatory and quality management roles, including positions at Baxter Healthcare, Biogen Idec, and Shire Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, she served as the Head of Regulatory Affairs for the Shire Regenerative Medicine business, with responsibility for global regulatory oversight of licensed and development stage combination biologic and medical device products. Her responsibilities at VTI include building out the company's quality and regulatory systems to ensure compliance, and continued development of late-stage regulatory strategies including preparation of global regulatory filings.
Richard Murawski joined VTI as Vice President of Manufacturing. He brings four decades of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, including significant recent experience in cellular therapy manufacturing and engineering at Dendreon. His prior manufacturing roles were at Cytogen, Baxter Healthcare and Favrille. In these roles he has developed and overseen international manufacturing organizations and successfully directed the design, construction, validation, regulatory approval, and start up of multiple international biotech manufacturing facilities. At VTI, Mr. Murawski is responsible for manufacturing of the cellular therapy and device components of our extracorporeal liver assist device, ELAD®, a combination product regulated by FDA's Biologics Division.