Alexza Pharmaceuticals, a US-based developer of products for the treatment of central nervous system conditions, has appointed Robert Lippe to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Operations Officer.
Lippe takes responsibility for the company's global operation functions, including strategic development and execution of clinical and commercial manufacturing, quality and compliance, supply chain and supply partner management, technology transfer, facilities, sustainment engineering and IT.
He brings more than 20 years of experience in operations with multinational biopharmaceutical companies and national research laboratories.
From January 2011 to February 2014, he was the Head of Global Operations & Operational Excellence at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this, he worked for Genentech.
Before Genentech, Lippe spent ten years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and six years as an officer in the US Coast Guard.
Alexza's products are based on the Staccato hand-held inhaler designed to deliver a drug aerosol to the deep lung, providing rapid systemic delivery and therapeutic onset, in a simple, non-invasive manner.
Adasuve (Staccato loxapine) is Alexza's first commercial product, which was approved by the US FDA in December 2012 and by the European Commission in February 2013. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA is Alexza's commercial partner for Adasuve in the US. Grupo Ferrer Internacional, is the company's commercial partner for the product in Europe, Latin America, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
