pre-IPO PHARMA

Third Pole Therapeutics Names Bill Athenson New CEO

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Enhanced Executive Team Positions Inhaled Portable Nitric Oxide Company for Accelerated Growth


ARLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Third Pole Therapeutics, a privately held company developing and delivering transformative life-saving cardio-pulmonary therapies, has named seasoned healthcare executive Bill Athenson as its new Chief Executive Officer, the company announced today. David Zapol, Third Pole's founding CEO, will continue providing strategic counsel to Third Pole.


Athenson joins Third Pole building on the recent hires of Elizabeth Holmberg as Chief Financial Officer, formerly CFO of Ikaria, and Christopher Miles as Chief Technology Officer, formerly global head of consulting services at Altran. These key enhancements to Third Pole's senior management structure position the company for accelerated growth.   



"I am delighted to take the helm at Third Pole as the company transitions to its next stage of commercial development," said Bill Athenson, Third Pole's CEO. "Third Pole has made significant progress in its efforts to make portable inhaled Nitric Oxide (iNO) available in more settings and expand worldwide access to pharmaceutical iNO. I look forward to building on a culture defined by patient focus, accountability and teamwork to get Third Pole's groundbreaking iNO generation and delivery system to patient communities struggling with the most serious, life-limiting, cardio-pulmonary diseases."


Athenson brings more than 25 years of experience creating profitable organizations within the pharma, life sciences, medical device, molecular diagnostics and healthcare software markets on a global basis. He has a unique blend of Fortune 15 company experience balanced with early-stage medical technology roles, as well as demonstrated success in fund raising, strategy and leveraging high impact strategic partnerships.


Ashleigh Palmer, Third Pole Board member and founder of INO Therapeutics, which developed and commercialized the world's first selective pulmonary vasodilator, INOmax® nitric oxide for inhalation, acquired in 2015 for $2.3 billion, said: "Bill is the perfect leader to move Third Pole to the next level given his expertise in leading high-performance organizations transitioning from development to commercial operations.  Bill's extensive experience in building cross-functional therapeutic and device development operations and partnerships, from product concept through commercial execution across U.S., Europe, and Asia, is especially relevant to the future success of Third Pole."


Most recently, Athenson served as CEO of Three Lakes Partners, conducting impact funding of pioneering drug discovery, diagnostics and medical device-based technologies and collaborations focused on accelerating therapies and improving care for patients and families living with Pulmonary Fibrosis.


In addition to his more than two decades of increasing leadership responsibilities at Baxter Healthcare, Athenson also served from 2002-2015 as Vice President, Global Sales, Marketing and Business Development for Nanosphere, Inc.



About Third Pole TherapeuticsThird Pole Therapeutics is developing transformative cardio-pulmonary therapies capable of expanding access to life-saving treatments worldwide. Third Pole's technology generates pure Nitric Oxide (iNO), a selective pulmonary vasodilator that is FDA approved for the treatment of hypoxic respiratory failure of the newborn. This innovative technology has the potential to provide clinicians with greater access to a life-saving treatment and may enable the worldwide use of iNO outside of critical care settings. The Company is aggressively expanding its leadership and development teams and forging high impact strategic partnerships to expedite the global launch of clinic-ready iNO therapy delivery systems to patients. For more information, please visit www.pole3.com.

ContactsThird Pole TherapeuticsElizabeth HolmbergChief Financial Officer908-310-0596[email protected]


Media/Investor Relations:Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.Ingrid Mezo/Maureen McEnroe, CFA 646-604-5150/ 212-375-2664 [email protected] [email protected]


SOURCE Third Pole Therapeutics

http://www.pole3.com

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