ANAHEIM, Calif., Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) today announced the appointment of Scott M. Whitcup, M.D., 52, to its Board of Directors. Dr. Whitcup is currently Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer at Allergan, Inc. In that position, he is responsible for leading Allergan's global research and development organization, including medical affairs, drug discovery and medical device research, as well as the global development programs that include ophthalmology, BOTOX®/neurology, medical dermatology, medical aesthetics, plastic surgery, urology and the surgical treatment of obesity.
"Dr. Whitcup is a highly-regarded leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with extensive experience in multiple therapeutic areas including autoimmune diseases, ophthalmology, CNS disease and dermatology," said Virgil D. Thompson, Chairman of the Board of Questcor Pharmaceuticals. "The growth strategies and product manufacturing for Acthar (H.P. Acthar Gel®) and Botox® have some interesting parallels. We believe that Scott's pivotal role in the growth of Botox® as a treatment for a range of medical conditions will benefit Questcor as we increase our scientific efforts to explore the potential for Acthar to treat additional autoimmune conditions."
"I am pleased to add my expertise into the mix of talent already on the board and management team of Questcor and look forward to assisting the Company in executing its strategic plans," noted Dr. Whitcup.
Dr. Whitcup joined Allergan in 2000, has been Executive Vice President, Research and Development since July 2004 and in April 2009 became Chief Scientific Officer. While at Allergan, he has been instrumental in obtaining approximately 20 major regulatory approvals including Botox® for chronic migraine, upper limb spasticity and neurogenic urologic conditions, LUMIGAN®, RESTASIS®, LATISSE®, LAP-BAND® for lower body mass index patients, and JUVEDERM®.
Prior to joining Allergan, Dr. Whitcup served as the Clinical Director of the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. As Clinical Director, Dr. Whitcup's leadership was vital in building the clinical research program and developing new therapies for ophthalmic diseases. Dr. Whitcup graduated from Cornell University and Cornell University Medical College. He completed residency training in internal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and in ophthalmology at Harvard University, as well as fellowship training in immunology at the National Institutes of Health.
BOTOX®, LUMIGAN®, RESTASIS®, LATISSE®, LAP-BAND® and JUVEDERM® are registered trademarks of Allergan, Inc.
About Questcor
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company whose primary product helps patients with serious, difficult-to-treat medical conditions. Questcor's primary product is H.P. Acthar® Gel (repository corticotropin injection), an injectable drug that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of 19 indications. Of these 19 indications, Questcor currently generates substantially all of its net sales from three indications: the treatment of acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis in adults, the treatment of proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome, and the treatment of infantile spasms in children under two years of age. With respect to nephrotic syndrome, the FDA has approved Acthar to "induce a diuresis or a remission of proteinuria in the nephrotic syndrome without uremia of the idiopathic type or that due to lupus erythematosus." Questcor is also exploring the use of Acthar to treat systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, for which Acthar is approved as both a maintenance therapy and to treat exacerbations. Questcor is also exploring the possibility of developing markets for other on-label indications and the possibility of pursuing FDA approval of additional indications not currently on the Acthar label where there is high unmet medical need. For more information about Questcor, please visit www.questcor.com.
Note: Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that have been made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "expects," "continue," "exploring" or "possibility" and other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Research and development risks, including risks associated with Questcor's work in the area in the area of SLE, and other indications, and our reliance on third-parties to conduct research and development and the ability of research and development to generate successful results;
- Regulatory changes or other policy actions by governmental authorities influencing the testing and approval of pharmaceuticals for new indications; and
- Other risks discussed in Questcor's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on February 23, 2011, our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents filed with the SEC.
The risk factors and other information contained in these documents should be considered in evaluating Questcor's prospects and future financial performance.
Questcor undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
SOURCE Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc.