LONDON—May 15, 2019—Dermavant Sciences, a dermatology-focused subsidiary of Roivant Sciences, today announced that Timothy S. Nelson and Kenneth E. Ludlum have been appointed to Dermavant’s Board of Directors. Mr. Nelson served as President and Chief Executive Officer, and member of the Board of Directors, of MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2005 until its acquisition by Allergan plc in 2013. Mr. Ludlum served as Chief Financial Officer of a molecular diagnostics company, CareDx, Inc., where he led its initial public offering in 2014.
“We are truly honored to have Tim and Ken join our board of directors,” said Todd Zavodnick, Chief Executive Officer of Dermavant. “Both Tim and Ken bring over 20 years of extensive leadership experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, drug delivery, molecular diagnostics, and/or medical device industries. Their expertise in building successful companies will be a valuable resource to Dermavant as we initiate our Phase 3 program for tapinarof for the treatment of psoriasis this quarter.”
“Joining Dermavant at this important time in the company’s development is a privilege,” said Mr. Nelson. “I admire the company’s innovative research and development pipeline and look forward to working with the team as it further develops its lead asset, tapinarof.”
“I am excited to join Dermavant as it focuses on developing product candidates that offer a novel mechanism of action,” said Mr. Ludlum. “If approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tapinarof could potentially be very promising for patients suffering from psoriasis.”
Mr. Nelson currently serves on the Board of Directors of Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of XOC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which are both private biopharmaceutical companies focused on treating undermet medical needs in neurological indications. In addition to his service to MAP Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Nelson has served on other Boards of Directors, including as Chairman of the Board of Civitas Therapeutics, Inc. from December 2013 to October 2014, when the company was acquired by Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., and Surmodics, Inc., a public medical technology company, from February 2014 to March 2015. Mr. Nelson earned a Master’s degree in Management with Distinction from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Mr. Ludlum has served on the board of over a dozen companies and currently serves on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Audit Committee of NATUS Medical, Inc., a medical device and equipment company. Mr. Ludlum also currently serves on the Board of Directors of other biotechnology and medical technology companies, including gene sequencing company, Personalis, Inc., since 2015 and laser ophthalmic company, IRIDEX Corp., since April 2019. In addition to his service at CareDx, he has served as Chief Financial Officer for other publicly traded companies, including Perclose, Inc., an interventional cardiology products company, from 1995 to 2000, and biopharmaceutical company, Alteon, Inc., from 1992 to 1994. He previously spent 10 years as an investment banker, including with Montgomery Securities. Mr. Ludlum holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Lehigh University and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
About Dermavant
Dermavant Sciences, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roivant Sciences, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics in medical dermatology. Dermavant leverages the Roivant platform to develop therapies that have the potential to address high unmet medical needs while driving greater efficiency in research and clinical development. The company’s robust medical dermatology pipeline includes both late-stage and early-development product candidates that target specific unmet needs in two of the largest growing immuno-dermatology markets, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, as well as other large markets, including vitiligo, primary focal hyperhidrosis, and acne. Dermavant is developing its lead product candidate, tapinarof (DMVT-505), as a differentiated therapeutic aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulating agent (TAMA) topical cream for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, which affect approximately 7.5 million and 28 million people in the United States, respectively. For more information, please visit www.https://www.dermavant.com.
About Roivant
Roivant Sciences aims to improve health by rapidly delivering innovative medicines and technologies to patients. It does this by building Vants – nimble, entrepreneurial biotech, and healthcare technology companies with a unique approach to sourcing talent, aligning incentives, and deploying technology to drive greater efficiency in R&D and commercialization. For more information, please visit www.roivant.com.
