Aristea Appoints Justin Thacker as Chief Financial Officer

Aristea Therapeutics (Aristea), a clinical-stage immunology focused drug development company developing novel therapies to treat rare and serious inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Justin Thacker, CPA, as Chief Financial Officer.

James M. Mackay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Aristea, commented, “Justin has a remarkable track record of strong financial leadership at life science companies like ours. His expertise and vision will be instrumental as we look to initiate a Phase 2b clinical trial for our lead indication, palmoplantar pustulosis, expand our development pipeline to include other neutrophil-mediated diseases, and expand our portfolio of assets.”

Mr. Thacker brings over 25 years of financial experience, including nearly 15 years in the life sciences industry at both commercial and clinical-stage companies, to the role. He previously served as Vice President, Finance at Design Therapeutics, Inc., where he played a key role in the company’s $276 million initial public offering. Previously, he was Vice President, Finance, at Synthorx, Inc., where he supported the company’s $150 million initial public offering and built the accounting team and infrastructure from the ground up prior to the company’s acquisition by Sanofi. Mr. Thacker has also held roles at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and supported commercial launches at both ACADIA and Cadence. He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

“I am honored to join the Aristea team at this exciting time in the company’s evolution,” said Mr. Thacker. “The company’s recent collaboration agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals and the closing of its Series B financing provides it with the necessary resources to advance the development of its CXCR2 programs and to seek new innovative programs to add to its preclinical and clinical pipeline. I am looking forward to working with the team to help advance the development of novel therapies to address rare diseases and other serious inflammatory conditions.”

Mr. Thacker holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and General Management and a Masters of Accountancy from Kansas State University.