BOONE, North Carolina, April 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pneuma Respiratory, Inc. (Pneuma), which has developed PNEUMAHALER™, the first fully digital breath activated inhaler (DBI), has recruited Dr. Steven Kesten as President and Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Kesten brings a wealth of pharmaceutical and medical device experience to a management team familiar with launching new companies and leading them to public exits, including two healthcare companies. Dr. Kesten joins Pneuma as the company pursues FDA approval for a portfolio of therapeutics targeting asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dr. Kesten's experience as the VP of Respiratory Products at Boehringer Ingelheim included key national and international roles in clinical development, regulatory, and commercialization, which will benefit the company as Pneuma pursues strategic marketing and distribution relationships globally.

During his tenure at Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Kesten played a pivotal role in the development and launch of the blockbuster respiratory product—Spiriva^® (tiotropium).  In addition, Dr. Kesten played a key role in the development of the Respimat^® platform for several respiratory drugs.  Tiotropium (alone or as a combination product) generates in excess of $4 billion per year in the United States alone.

"I am extremely excited about Pneuma's innovative approach to improving the effectiveness of therapeutic agents that will help to address continuing issues in medication delivery in a large population of patients who continue to suffer from asthma and COPD.   I believe that Pneuma's inhaler technology can positively influence the large socioeconomic impact of obstructive lung disease. The fully digital and breath activated platform has the flexibility to include all classes of inhaled drugs and the potential to explore poorly met needs in other diseases."

Prior to his tenure as an executive at Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Kesten was a staff pulmonologist at Toronto General Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital as well as a faculty member of the University of Toronto. In his last year in Toronto, he was appointed medical director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program. He subsequently joined Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center as the medical director of the Rush Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program and was appointed as an associate professor of medicine at Rush Medical College before joining Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. In recent years, Dr. Kesten served as the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Cytori Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Uptake Medical corp.  During his career he has published over 160 peer-reviewed publications.

About Pneuma Respiratory
Launched in 2015, Pneuma Respiratory is a pharmaceutical company based in Boone, North Carolina. With a global team of researchers, physicians, designers and engineers, Pneuma has created PNEUMAHALER™, the  first fully integrated digital breath activated inhaler.  The inhaled delivery system has fully integrated Bluetooth technology to provide feedback on drug delivery to patients, family members and health care providers. Using Pneuma's [proprietary/patented] digital droplet ejector technology, Pneuma's integrated device, although currently available for investigational purposes only, has the potential to ultimately deliver a spectrum of novel therapies, including biologics, through the lungs. For more information visit www.pneumarespiratory.com.

Media Contact: Rich Gimigliano CFO
rgimigliano@pneumarespiratory.com
415-819-2477

Related Links

https://www.pneumarespiratory.com

SOURCE Pneuma Respiratory