BOONTON, N.J., May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Enteris
BioPharma, Inc., a biotechnology company developing innovative drug
products built around its proprietary delivery technologies and a
wholly-owned subsidiary of SWK Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: SWKH),
today announced the hiring of Rajiv
Khosla, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer, effective
immediately. Dr. Khosla replaces Joel
Tune, Enteris' CEO since 2016.
With more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience
as both a consultant and senior corporate executive, Dr. Khosla
will lead Enteris as the company targets multiple growth
opportunities built around Peptelligence®, the company's
proprietary oral peptide and small molecule drug delivery platform.
Importantly, as CEO, Dr. Khosla will spearhead the
advancement of Enteris' external and internal programs, as well as
the development of new external licensing and partnership
opportunities that leverage the company's Peptelligence™
platform.
"Following a comprehensive search, the management teams of SWK
Holdings and Enteris BioPharma are confident that Rajiv is the
ideal executive to lead Enteris as it advances its mission to be
the industry leader in developing oral tablet
formulations of peptides and other molecules with low oral
bioavailability or permeability," said Winston Black, Chairman and CEO of SWK Holdings.
"Rajiv brings a wealth of experience and expertise from a
distinguished career as an industry executive and more recently as
a consultant advising small biopharmaceutical companies,
specifically regarding optimizing the monetization of intellectual
property. His business development experience and proven track
record, not to mention a deep knowledge of drug delivery systems,
including oral delivery technologies, will be critical to Enteris
as the company seeks to capture more value-creating opportunities
and maximize the potential of its Peptelligence™ platform."
"I greatly look forward to working with the Enteris and SWK
management teams to build on the momentum that began with the
acquisition and continued support by SWK, which extended into 2020
with the expansion of our executive team," said Dr. Khosla. "From
its founding in 2013, Enteris has established itself as a leader in
the oral peptide market, yet I believe the company has only begun
to realize its vast potential. Peptelligence™ is a potential game
changer for drug makers offering an opportunity to reshape
therapeutic categories and treatment paradigms. I am humbled and
excited to be afforded the opportunity to lead Enteris. I would
like to thank Joel Tune for his
vision and leadership, which was instrumental in enabling the
company to achieve the successes it has to date."
During Dr. Khosla's three-decade career in the biopharmaceutical
industry, he has demonstrated an ability to successfully apply his
expertise at multiple companies, spanning early-stage to
established industry leaders. In 2011, Dr. Khosla founded CEUTEC
LLC, a strategy and business development consultancy serving
biopharmaceutical companies and venture capital firms. In that
capacity, Dr. Khosla consulted with companies such as NPS Pharma
(which was acquired by Shire in 2016) to evaluate potential
out-licensing deals with large pharmaceutical companies and served
as CEO at Orasi Medical, a neurodiagnostic medical technology
company. Dr. Khosla also worked with IntelGenx Corp., an oral drug
delivery company, to implement a drug delivery 505(b)(2) product
pipeline, and business development strategies, leading to
successful FDA filings.
Prior to CEUTEC, Dr. Khosla held several senior roles in large
and small biopharmaceutical companies, including five years at the
former Biovail Corp. as Vice President of Business Development
where he led the transaction process for more than 75 business
development opportunities in various therapeutic areas. Dr. Khosla
served as Vice President and General Manager, Healthcare, at
Sensient Technology, where he led the company's global P&L
business and manufacturing operations. And at ICI Group, Dr. Khosla
established and managed a new global healthcare business that
launched six new drug delivery technologies and secured strategic
alliances that helped grow revenue 40 percent to $25 million.
Dr. Khosla was previously on the boards of Orasi Medical,
IntelGenx, and BioNJ, a biotechnology industry organization. He
also serves as an Assistant Professor of International
Entrepreneurship at the Norm Brodsky College of Business at
Rider University in New Jersey. A licensed pharmacist in the U.K.,
Dr. Khosla is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of
Great Britain.
Dr. Khosla received a Bachelor of Pharmacy with honors and a
Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Drug Delivery from the University of
Nottingham in England. He earned an Executive M.B.A. from
the Henley Business School at the University of Reading.
About Enteris BioPharma
Enteris BioPharma, Inc. is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of SWK Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: SWKH)
offering innovative formulation solutions utilizing its proprietary
drug delivery technology, Peptelligence®. The technology
has been the subject of numerous feasibility studies and active
development programs, several of which are in late stage clinical
development. Additionally, Enteris BioPharma is advancing an
internal product pipeline of oral tablet reformulations of drug
products that address significant treatment opportunities for which
there is no oral delivery option. Enteris BioPharma's most advanced
internal product candidate, Ovarest® (oral leuprolide
tablet), is an oral peptide being developed for the treatment of
endometriosis. TobrateTM (oral tobramycin tablet) is
also being developed by Enteris BioPharma for the treatment of
uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uUTI). A third
internal compound, octreotide, is currently in preclinical
development. For more information on Enteris BioPharma and its
proprietary oral delivery technology, please visit
http://www.EnterisBioPharma.com.
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SOURCE Enteris BioPharma, Inc.