
Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:CPH) (“Cipher” or “the Company”) has announced that Chris Watters has joined the Company in the new position of Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Watters has 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including leadership roles in business strategy, marketing, sales and business development.
Previously, Mr. Watters held the position of Vice-President of Sales at GlaxoSmithKline, where he led a commercial organization of 300 sales and operations professionals delivering annual revenue of $700 million. As a key member of the executive team of Biovail Pharmaceuticals Canada, he served as Vice-President, Marketing providing leadership in new product launches, commercial assessment and business development. Most recently, Mr. Watters held the position of Senior Vice President, Marketing with Goba Sports Group, where he was responsible for global marketing, new product development, business development, and corporate strategy.
“We are pleased to add Chris to our senior team to lead our expanded corporate development function,” said Robert Tessarolo, President and CEO of Cipher. “Chris brings a terrific history of leadership and high performance across diverse therapeutic areas and pharmaceutical businesses. We expect business development to be central to our growth plans moving forward.”
Cipher also announced that Joan Chypyha, General Manager and President, Cipher Canada has left the Company to pursue other opportunities.
“We thank Joan for her leadership in establishing Cipher’s initial Canadian commercial platform and wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” said Mr. Tessarolo. “With the team we have in place, including new sales leadership, we have the management depth and capabilities to build on our early success and continue to drive growth in our Canada business.”