Heron Therapeutics Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on improving the lives of patients by developing treatments to address important unmet patient needs, has appointed Brett Fleshman as Chief Business Officer.
 
Fleshman has 25 years of experience in corporate and business development, commercial strategy, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, biologics, and surgical devices.
 
“Now is the right time to add substantial BD and M&A experience to the management team at Heron, and I welcome Brett to repeat the success we have enjoyed together in the past,” said Craig Collard, CEO of Heron. “Brett will be focused on driving substantial inorganic revenue growth to leverage our established commercial team in the hospital and community settings.  He will also lead our investor relations function with the goal of expanding our reach to strategic biopharma and generalist investors.”

Experience 

Most recently, Fleshman served as Managing Director at NovaQuest Capital Management, a leader in product-based financing for late-stage clinical and commercial biopharmaceutical programs. While at NovaQuest, he was responsible for deal sourcing, structuring nondilutive investments, negotiations, diligence, and post-close investment management.
 
Prior to NovaQuest, Fleshman served as Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development for Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, where he helped formulate a turnaround commercialization strategy which led to the company’s acquisition in 2020 by Asahi Kasei. Previously, Fleshman held senior commercial and business development roles at Cornerstone Therapeutics, supporting numerous company acquisitions, asset purchases and territory licenses to build thriving hospital and rare disease businesses that helped lead to the company’s acquisition by Chiesi Pharmaceutici S.p.A.
 
Throughout his career, Fleshman has focused on developing efficient strategies for commercializing new products and revitalizing distressed assets. Earlier in his career, he also held senior marketing roles at Ther-Rx Corporation and Genzyme Biosurgery, now Sanofi Genzyme. Fleshman earned a degree in Business Administration from the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University.
 
“In the field of M&A we strive for opportunities to deliver on a mandate for bringing products to such a comprehensive yet specialized commercial team,” said Fleshman. “Working with Craig and many members of this team extensively in the past, we had a reputation for a healthy cadence of deals and delivering strong commercial results. It’s great to be back and to offer Heron the experience and contacts gained while financing late-stage and commercial pharmaceutical companies.”