Exhibit 99.1
Cara Therapeutics Appoints Joana Goncalves, M.D.,
as Chief Medical Officer
- Former VP of Medical Affairs for Dermatology at Celgene to lead development
of KORSUVA™ in dermatological conditions -
STAMFORD, Conn., Oct 23, 2018 – Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CARA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities with a primary focus on the treatment of pruritus by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors, today announced the appointment of Joana Goncalves, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Joseph Stauffer, Cara’s former CMO, will transition to a consulting role for the Company.
“We are very pleased to welcome Joana to the Cara team. She brings a wealth of clinical development and medical affairs expertise with novel dermatology products, which will be invaluable as we execute the late-stage development of KORSUVA™ in chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus, and further expand our clinical program into dermatologic conditions such as atopic dermatitis,” said Derek Chalmers, Ph.D., D.Sc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cara Therapeutics. “We would also like to thank Joe Stauffer for all of his significant contributions to the Company over the last four years.”
“I am thrilled to join the leadership team at Cara at such an exciting stage in the development of KORSUVA,” said Dr. Goncalves. “Pruritus associated with dermatological diseases remains a prevalent clinical issue and, based on both clinical and preclinical data to date, I believe KORSUVA offers great potential to address this significant unmet need.”
Dr. Goncalves brings more than 17 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Cara. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Medical Affairs for Dermatology and Neurology at Celgene Corporation where she was instrumental in planning and executing medical support activities for a number of programs, including OTEZLA® for psoriatic arthritis. Previously, Dr. Goncalves held the position of Vice President, Medical Strategy and Scientific Affairs at LEO Pharma Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of LEO Pharma A/S. She began her pharmaceutical career at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, working on a range of products across various therapeutic areas. Dr. Goncalves received her M.D. from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
