AtheroNova Appoints COO

Randolph M. Johnson, Ph.D. has been appointed chief operating officer of AtheroNova Inc. Dr. Johnson has 25 years of experience in the pharma, biopharma, drug delivery and medical device industries in both start-ups and global companies. He also has experience in entrepreneurial financing, corporate funding alliances/joint ventures and IPO launches. His scientific experience is concentrated in the areas of cardiovascular disease, oncology, endocrinology, and neurology.
 
Most recently, Dr. Johnson served as the chief of technology development and vice president of research at KAI Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to an equity exit and acquisition by Amgen in a $315 million transaction for Velcalcetide (AMG-416) to treat chronic kidney disease.
 
Previously, Dr. Johnson served as senior vice president of Research and Preclinical Development for Cellgate, providing R&D leadership in novel molecular transporters and polyamine analogs for hyperproliferative diseases. Dr. Johnson was a founding member at DURECT Corp., a drug delivery and medical device spin-out from Alza Corp, and held scientific leadership positions with Roche Bioscience, Syntex Research, and Genentech.
 
“We are pleased to announce that Dr. Johnson has joined AtheroNova’s management team, bringing his talents and leadership to AtheroNova’s efforts to develop our platform of systemically available bile acids for the treatment of cardiovascular disease,” said Thomas W. Gardner, chief executive officer of AtheroNova. “Dr. Johnson is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with strength in drug discovery, R&D and in the operational aspects of running companies in this industry. Everyone on the AtheroNova team is looking forward to Dr. Johnson’s contributions to the Company’s first-in-class compounds for atherosclerosis regression and lipid modulation technology.”