WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQT), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for unmet needs in immune-mediated dermatological diseases and conditions, or immuno-dermatology, today announced several executive leadership updates, primarily as part of its continued preparations for the eventual launch and commercialization of its pipeline products.
Scott Burrows, currently the company’s Vice President of Finance, will become CFO effective upon the retirement of John Smither, who has announced his intent to retire as Arcutis’ CFO effective April 1, 2021, after two years with the company and a nearly 45-year career. Mr. Burrows brings almost 20 years of finance experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including the last two years as a member of Arcutis’ leadership team. As part of the transition, Mr. Smither will serve as an advisor to the company for at least two years post his retirement.
The company also announced that Corey Padovano has joined Arcutis as Vice President of Sales. Mr. Padovano brings over 20 years of proven leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and the military. Mr. Padovano will be responsible for recruiting and leading Arcutis’ sales management and sales teams in preparation for the potential launch of topical roflumilast cream (ARQ-151).
In addition, Sean Brugger, Ph.D., has joined the company as Executive Director of Field Medical Affairs. Dr. Brugger brings more than 16 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience across many disease states, including inflammatory disorders of the joints and skin. Dr. Brugger will be responsible for recruiting and leading Arcutis’ field medical affairs team, which will be focused on scientific communications with health care professionals regarding Arcutis’ product candidates.
“As our first CFO, John has been an invaluable partner to me in building Arcutis into one of the pre-eminent medical dermatology companies. He played a central role in our successful IPO as well as two successful follow-on financings, leaving us well-capitalized and able to invest in the commercialization of topical roflumilast while continuing to progress our deep pipeline. While we will miss working with him daily, we are thrilled that he has agreed to stay on as an advisor, and I wish John all the best in his well-deserved retirement,” said Frank Watanabe, Arcutis’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our thoughtful succession planning will allow us to have a smooth and seamless transition of the CFO responsibilities to Scott. Over the past two years, I and our executive team have worked closely with Scott, and I have complete confidence in his ability to take the reins as our CFO.”
Mr. Watanabe continued, “The unique depth of expertise across Arcutis’ leadership team is a core element of our corporate strategy, and has enabled our operational excellence. The appointments of Corey and Sean will be critical in driving the next phase of growth for Arcutis as we prepare to file our first New Drug Application and prepare for potential commercial launch. We are excited to welcome these world-class executives to Arcutis and look forward to their leadership as we continue to advance our vision to become the preeminent innovation-driven company in medical dermatology.”
Mr. Burrows has served as Arcutis’ Vice President of Finance since joining the Company in May 2019. He played key roles in the Company’s private financing, initial public offering, and subsequent financings, in addition to overseeing the buildout of the financial planning and accounting functions. Prior to Arcutis, Mr. Burrows was the head of international investor relations for Shire, Plc. in Zug, Switzerland, where he played a key role in gathering European and Japanese investor support for Takeda’s acquisition of Shire. Prior to Shire, he spent 15 years at Amgen in roles of increasing responsibility across financial planning and analysis, treasury, and investor relations. Mr. Burrows started his career as a consultant at Arthur Andersen. He earned both his B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a licensed CPA in California (inactive).
Prior to joining Arcutis, Mr. Padovano was at Gilead Sciences, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in the role of Executive Director, Marketing Operations, where he was responsible for all aspects of the Marketing Operations department in support of the U.S. Commercial organization. Prior to Gilead, Mr. Padovano was Sales Director of Commercial Operations, Hospital Group, at Merck & Company, Inc., where he led the successful launch of DULERA®. Previously, he also held various roles of increasing responsibility at Schering-Plough Corporation, including Regional Sales Director for the New Jersey-Philadelphia Region. He began his biopharmaceutical career at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, where he was ultimately promoted to Division Manager of Northern New Jersey. Prior to that, he had a distinguished career in the United States Army, earning multiple personal commendations. Mr. Padovano earned his B.S. in History and Politics from Drexel University.
Prior to joining Arcutis, Dr. Brugger spent nearly five years at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, culminating in the role of Regional Director, supporting their metabolic disorders portfolio and playing a major role in developing and implementing the broad medical strategy for the entire therapeutic area. Before Alexion, he spent nearly six years at Amgen where he held roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in the role of Director, Global Scientific Communications, Inflammation. While at Amgen, he led Scientific Affairs efforts for Enbrel® and the autoimmune diseases pipeline, including biosimilar adalimumab. Prior to that, he spent four years in Global Medical Affairs at Baxter BioScience supporting their hemophilia and clotting disorder therapies, as well as two years at Roche Bioscience as an inflammatory disease research scientist focused on TNF. Dr. Brugger earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California and a B.S. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis.
About Arcutis – Bioscience, applied to the skin.
Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQT) is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for unmet needs in immune-mediated dermatological diseases and conditions, or immuno-dermatology. The company is leveraging recent advances in immunology and inflammation to develop differentiated therapies against biologically validated targets to solve persistent treatment challenges in serious diseases of the skin. Arcutis’ robust pipeline includes four novel drug candidates currently in development for a range of inflammatory dermatological conditions. The company’s lead product candidate, topical roflumilast, has the potential to revitalize the standard of care for plaque psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, scalp psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. For more information, visit https://arcutis.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including, among others, statements regarding the potential for Arcutis to become the preeminent, innovation-driven medical dermatology company. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ include risks inherent in the clinical development process and regulatory approval process, the timing of regulatory filings, and our ability to defend our intellectual property. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties applicable to our business, see the “Risk Factors” section of our Form 10-K filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 16, 2021, as well as any subsequent filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise or update information herein to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.
Investors and Media:
Heather Rowe Armstrong
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
harmstrong@arcutis.com
805-418-5006, Ext. 740
Download our corporate fact sheet.
Download