Flexion Therapeutics announced that Yamo Deniz, M.D., has been named chief medical officer (CMO). This appointment strengthens the company’s leadership with an industry veteran who brings extensive experience leading medical and clinical development teams at major biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

With the addition of Dr. Deniz, Neil Bodick, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder of Flexion, will transition from his position as CMO and assume the role of chief scientific officer. In his new capacity, Dr. Bodick will be responsible for building Flexion’s pipeline of new drug candidates and leading discovery research activities including the assessment of external opportunities and new applications for the company’s proprietary formulation technologies.

Dr. Deniz is an allergist and immunologist by training, and prior to joining Flexion, he served as vice president and global head of Medical for Rare Diseases at Sanofi-Genzyme. Previously, he held positions as CMO, global head of Medical & Pharmacovigilance and as vice president and global head of Development at GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. Dr. Deniz also held numerous senior clinical development and leadership positions of increasing responsibilities in the Respiratory and Inflammation groups at Genentech and Roche. Dr. Deniz received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He completed his residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and fellowship at Duke University Medical Center.

“With his demonstrated track record of clinical development and medical affairs, Dr. Deniz is a superb addition to Flexion’s management team as we prepare for the potential approval and commercialization of Zilretta, also known as FX006,” said Michael Clayman, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Flexion. “His extensive pharmaceutical R&D background will be invaluable to us as we expand Flexion into a fully integrated pharmaceutical company. In addition to his deep industry knowledge, Dr. Deniz’s team-based approach and entrepreneurial spirit exemplify Flexion’s core values and make him an excellent fit for our company culture.”

In February 2017, Flexion announced that the FDA accepted the New Drug Application for Zilretta in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the agency has established a user fee goal date of October 6, 2017.