16 January 2019 - - US-based ArunA Bio, a specialist in the development of exosomes for the treatment of CNS and neurodegenerative disorders, has appointed Mark Sirgo, Pharm.D. as chief executive officer, the company said.

Sirgo joins the company with more than 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and is most recognized for building the fully integrated pharmaceutical company, BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ: BDSI).

With the appointment of Dr. Sirgo to the senior leadership team, Dr. Steven Stice, co-founder, current CEO and chief scientific officer, will fully focus on directing the company's research and scientific development efforts.

ArunA continues the development of its novel neural exosome platform to optimise the delivery of siRNAs, antibodies, genes and small molecules across the blood brain barrier to improve outcomes for patients with CNS and neurodegenerative disorders including genetic and rare diseases.

Dr. Sirgo most recently served as president and chief executive officer of BioDelivery Sciences, a publicly listed fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus in pain/CNS drug development and commercialization.

In this role, he successfully raised over USD600 m through equity, debt and partnerships and utilized the company's drug delivery platform to progress three products through FDA approval and commercialization.

Prior to joining BioDelivery Services, he spent 16 years in a range of clinical and commercial leadership positions at Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome, and GlaxoSmithKline, including vice president of International OTC Development and vice president of New Product Marketing.

Sirgo received his BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University and his Doctorate in Pharmacy from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

ArunA Bio is revolutionizing neurotherapeutic development with our neural exosome therapeutic platform. The inherent ability of our proprietary neural exosomes to cross the blood brain barrier enables drugs and drug combinations to naturally target cells and treat patients with a range of neurological disorders.