Verona Pharma Plc (LON:VRP) have seen their shares crash 10% as the firm announced a couple of new senior management changes on Monday afternoon.

Shares in Verona Pharma trade at 47p (-10.00%). 3/2/20 15:36BST.

The firm said that former Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc boss David Zaccardelli had been appointed as president & chief executive officer.

Notably, Dova Pharmaceuticals former chief financial officer, Mark Hahn, will join as CFO. This will be a non-board position and is effective from March 1. Hahn has also been CFO at Cempra Inc.

Zaccardelli was president and CEO of Dova until it was bought by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB in November 2019. His other significant previous roles include chief operating officer at United Therapeutics Corp.

Zaccardelli’s appointment is effective from Friday and comes at a time where Verona have seen recent successes.

“We are very pleased to have both Dr. Zaccardelli and Mr. Hahn join Verona Pharma. They are highly experienced leaders with a proven track record of working together to create significant value for shareholders. We believe we have a strong team in place to lead Verona Pharma into its next phase of growth. The team will focus on the US and worldwide opportunities to help COPD patients in need of additional treatment,” said Dr. David Ebsworth, Chairman of Verona Pharma.

“I thank Dr. Karlsson for his leadership in building Verona Pharma into a strong company with a Phase 3 program for ensifentrine expected to begin in 3Q 2020, and also Mr. Morgan for his support through the US IPO process. Together, Dr. Karlsson and Mr. Morgan successfully raised significant capital, listed Verona Pharma on Nasdaq and used these funds to generate data supporting the strong efficacy and safety profile of ensifentrine in COPD. I am pleased they will continue to support the transition to ensure the further success of Verona Pharma.”

The appointment of Zaccardelli seems an interesting one, however the new appointment has vast experience in the industry and should take Verona in the right direction.

Speaking on his new role Zaccardelli said:

“I strongly believe it is a transformational time to join Verona Pharma to ensure the full potential of ensifentrine, a first-in-class, inhaled, dual inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) and phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) enzymes for the treatment of respiratory diseases including COPD, asthma and CF. In addition, the recently reported Phase 2 clinical trial results of ensifentrine added to inhaled tiotropium, a long acting anti-muscarinic (“LAMA”) commonly used to treat patients with COPD, underscores its potential for a significant impact on the treatment for patients with COPD. Verona Pharma will continue to focus on developing new treatments for patients with unmet medical need.

“I am also excited Mark Hahn is joining Verona as CFO as part of the executive leadership team. He has extensive experience in both finance and public pharmaceutical companies having raised more than $600 million to support novel product development at previous companies. In addition, we have effectively collaborated together in the leadership of previous companies including Dova resulting in the acquisition by Sobi.”

Verona’s positive Ensifentrine trial

A few weeks back, Verona gave an impressive update to the market which saw its shares surge over 50%.

The firm said that its Phase 2b clinical trial of nebulized Ensifentrine met its primary endpoint.

The four weeks trial, which is currently being undertaken is being studied within severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients is now reaching its conclusion.

The drug was administered twice daily in combination with tiotropium, a treatment used in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Verona are currently trialling four different doses of the new medication, which are 0.375 milligram, 0.75 milligram, 1.5 milligrams and 3.0 milligrams.

Verona said the drug hit its “primary endpoint” for a dose-related positive effect on lung function when compared with a group taking a placebo that has no medical benefit.