Momenta Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment Of Thomas P. Koestler To Board Of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:MNTA), a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, announced the appointment of pharmaceutical veteran Thomas P. Koestler, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Currently serving as Executive-in-Residence at Vatera Holdings LLC, Dr. Koestler is the former Executive Vice President of Schering-Plough.   

"Tom has an exceptionally strong background in global pharmaceutical research and development and has been associated with over 80 product approvals during his career," commented Craig Wheeler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Momenta. "His product development experience and strong record of regulatory success will be a great asset to Momenta as we advance our existing pipeline and move forward with our follow-on biologics program. We are very happy to welcome him to our Board of Directors," he concluded.

About Tom Koestler

Dr. Koestler's nearly 30 year career has included senior executive positions at top-tier global pharmaceutical companies. Since 2010, Dr. Koestler has served as Executive-in-Residence at Vatera Holdings. Prior to joining Vatera  Holdings Dr. Koestler was most recently Executive Vice President of Schering Corporation and President of Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI), the pharmaceutical research and development arm of Schering-Plough Corporation which he joined in 2003. Under his leadership there the company developed an industry-leading pipeline that contributed to the turnaround of the business. Dr. Koestler has been involved with over 80 product approvals during his career, including 30 new molecular entities. He has also held senior positions at Pharmacia, Novartis, Ortho McNeil and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Koestler holds a BS degree in biology and genetics from Daemen College and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York, where he studied medicine and pathology.

About Momenta

Momenta Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, specializing in the detailed structural analysis of complex mixture drugs. Momenta is applying its technology to the development of generic versions of complex drug products, as well as to the discovery and development of novel drugs.