Horizon Pharma plc Announces Board of Directors Following Closing of Acquisition of Vidara Therapeutics International plc

DUBLIN, IRELAND--(Marketwired - Sep 19, 2014) - Horizon Pharma plc (NASDAQ: HZNP) today announced the appointment of its Board of Directors. The appointment of the Horizon Pharma plc Board follows the closing of the acquisition of Vidara Therapeutics International plc by Horizon Pharma, Inc. and the resulting parent entity being incorporated in Ireland under the name Horizon Pharma plc. 

Timothy P. Walbert, president and chief executive officer of Horizon Pharma plc, has been named Chairman of the Board and Michael Grey has been named Lead Independent Director.

The Company's Board is comprised of each of the former members of the Horizon Pharma, Inc. Board of Directors, including Mr. Walbert, Mr. Grey, Jeff Himawan, Ph.D., Ronald Pauli, Gino Santini and H. Thomas Watkins, as well as two new Board members, Liam Daniel and Virinder Nohria, M.D., Ph.D. 

The Board also has several standing committees, comprised of an Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Transaction Committee and Nominating & Governance Committee.

New Members of the Board of Directors

Liam Daniel

Mr. Daniel, 62, a Chartered Director and Chartered Accountant, was elected to the position of President of the Institute of Directors of Ireland in May 2013, and was originally elected to the board of the Institute of Directors in Ireland in June 2010. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President and Company Secretary of Elan Corporation plc and served in that role from December 2001 until the merger of Elan with Perrigo in December 2013. He was previously an Executive Director of Elan between 2003 and 2007, having joined the organization as Financial Controller in 1994. Mr. Daniel was previously Financial Director of Xtravision plc from 1990 to 1992 and prior to that, he held the position of Head of Finance of An Post for a period of three years. He is also a former President of the Financial Executives' Association of Ireland.

Virinder Nohria, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Nohria, 60, has served on the board of directors of Vidara since December 20, 2011. Until Horizon's acquisition of Vidara, Dr. Nohria served as President and Chief Medical Officer of Vidara, which he also co-founded in 2011. Dr. Nohria is currently on the board of directors of Promentis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held early stage neuroscience company, and Sebela Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held gastroenterology and dermatology focused company. Previously, Dr. Nohria has served on the board of Allergy Therapeutics plc. In the past, Dr. Nohria was part of the founding team of Alaven Pharmaceutical and Alaven Consumer Health LLC and served as its' Chief Medical Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President from 2008 until it's sale to Meda Pharma in October 2010. Additionally, Dr. Nohria worked for Eli Lilly and Company on Zyprexa and at UCB, where he was clinical lead for submission and commercialization of Keppra in the United States. Between 2003 and 2005, he was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Xcel Pharmaceuticals where he led development of retigabine (ezogabine) for the treatment of epilepsy. Dr. Nohria is an experienced biotechnology entrepreneur and drug developer with a track record of success in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. Dr. Nohria is a board-certified neurologist with special qualification in child neurology. His medical training was conducted at the University of Cambridge in England. His postgraduate training was completed in the United Kingdom and the United States at Duke University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology and has authored many publications and book chapters.

About Horizon Pharma plc

Horizon Pharma plc is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by identifying, developing, acquiring and commercializing differentiated products that address unmet medical needs. The company markets a portfolio of products in arthritis, inflammation and orphan diseases. The company's U.S. marketed products are ACTIMMUNE^® (interferon gamma-1b), DUEXIS^® (ibuprofen/famotidine), RAYOS^® (prednisone) delayed-release tablets and VIMOVO^® (naproxen/esomeprazole). Horizon's global headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, please visit www.horizonpharma.com.

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