Arena Pharmaceuticals announced that Vincent Aurentz will join its management team as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, effective today. Mr. Aurentz will report to Amit Munshi, Arena's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"I am excited to have Vince join us at Arena," said Mr. Munshi. "His experience in product planning, operations and corporate development will add significant value as we continue our transition from a discovery research company to an execution-driven, clinically focused company."
Mr. Aurentz joins Arena with over 27 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Prior to Arena, Mr. Aurentz served as the Chief Business Officer of Epirus Biopharmaceuticals. Prior to that, Mr. Aurentz served as President of HemoShear Therapeutics, where he oversaw the scientific and business development efforts including collaborations with global organizations such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Janssen R&D and Children's National Health System. Before his time at HemoShear Therapeutics, Mr. Aurentz was Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Management Board at Merck KGaA (Merck Serono) where he directed R&D programs, portfolio strategy and headed deal activity and venture investments. Mr. Aurentz is a former Executive Vice President at Quintiles, and Co-founder and Managing Director of a venture capital and advisory business. He started his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).
"I am thrilled to be a part of Arena as it re-orients its priorities to deliver first or best-in-class compounds in a timely and cost-conscious manner," said Mr. Aurentz. "I look forward to working with the team to unlock the value in our portfolio of three Phase 2 programs and multiple partner collaborations."