Collagenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has appointed Colin W Stewart to succeed Brian M Gallagher, PhD, as the company's president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Stewart will also be a member of the Collagenex board of directors. Dr Gallagher will remain on the board as a director and will provide certain consulting services to the company for a period of 24 months.

"We are pleased to welcome Colin Stewart to Collagenex as the company's president and chief executive officer and to its board of directors," said James E Daverman, a Collagenex board member since 1995. "Colin brings a depth of pharmaceutical business experience to Collagenex at an exciting time in the company's history. He has built a solid track record of achieving strong sales growth and profitability through pharmaceutical brand development, creating integrated product portfolios and successfully building and leveraging sales forces. He is also experienced in bringing products through both the FDA and European regulatory approval processes, and he has launched and managed numerous pharmaceutical products in a broad range of therapeutic areas, including dermatology and oncology products as well as in-licensed products and pharmaceuticals that were subject to generic competition. We are confident that his skills and experience make Colin the right person to lead Collagenex to the next stage of its corporate development."

Stewart said, "I am delighted to be joining Collagenex at such a critical and exciting time. I share the board's vision that Collagenex has the people, products and technology to become a major diversified specialty pharmaceutical company, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to play a significant role in shaping the company's future."

Mr. Stewart, a 28-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, most recently was president and chief executive officer of Muro Pharmaceutical, Inc., a subsidiary of Viatris GmbH. He previously served 10 years with the ASTA Medica Group where he managed several pharmaceutical business units in increasingly senior management positions. He began his career as a sales representative for Winthrop Laboratories Ltd in the U.K. and subsequently held a number of positions of increasing responsibility with Winthrop in sales, marketing and operational management.

Mr. Stewart, a U.K. citizen, received a Diploma in Management Studies from Teesside Polytechnic and a Master of Science degree in management studies from Durham University Business School.