Aurinia Appoints Max Colao as Chief Commercial Officer and Expands U.S. Commercial Leadership Team

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSX:AUP) (“Aurinia” or the “Company”), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing voclosporin in multiple indications, today announced the appointment of Max Colao to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer. In addition, Aurinia has recruited an experienced team of leaders across key commercial functions including sales, marketing, market access, and commercial operations.

“This is a very exciting time at Aurinia, and we are laser-focused on executing on our strategy to prepare for a commercial launch next year. Assembling a world-class commercial leadership team in the months following the positive AURORA Phase 3 data is a testament to this commitment and voclosporin’s potential,” said Peter Greenleaf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aurinia. “We believe the confirmatory AURORA data represented a potential breakthrough for people affected by lupus nephritis. The addition of Max’s invaluable experience, combined with the collective capabilities and expertise of our growing commercial organization, will be central to a successful market entry.”

In preparing for potential commercialization in 2021, Aurinia is building a distinguished team with proven experience in launching therapies for nephrology and autoimmune indications. The Company expects to file a new drug application (NDA) for voclosporin as a potential treatment for lupus nephritis (“LN”) in the second quarter of 2020. Joining the commercial organization along with Mr. Colao are:

• Chris Hays, Vice President, Marketing;
• Fran Lynch, Vice President, Sales;
• Cara Felish, Vice President, Commercial Operations; and
• Tim Hermes, Vice President, Market Access.

These hires follow the recently reported positive efficacy and safety results from the Company’s AURORA Phase 3 trial in the treatment of LN. Voclosporin was granted Fast Track designation by the FDA in 2016.

Max Colao brings nearly 30 years of world-class commercial operations experience to his role at Aurinia. Prior to leading U.S. commercial operations at Alexion and launching multiple rare disease therapies, Mr. Colao spent nearly 20 years at Amgen, holding roles of increasing responsibility on various marketing and sales teams, most notably leading U.S. launches, commercialization, and pricing strategy in the areas of rheumatology, dermatology, and autoimmune disorders for Enbrel, Prolia, and Nplate. Most recently, he was Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Business Development at Abeona, where he led the company’s commercialization and business development efforts of autologous cell therapy and AAV9-based gene therapy for rare diseases. Mr. Colao received his B.S. in applied mathematics and economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and his MBA from the University of Southern California.