Novan (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NOVN]]) has promoted Paula Brown Stafford to president and the newly created role of chief operating officer. Stafford, chief development officer of the Morrisville, NC, skin drugs developer since 2017, takes over the role of president held by company co-founder Nathan Stasko. Two years ago, Stasko relinquished the CEO post and became president and chief scientific officer following the Phase 3 failure of Novan’s acne drug.
Novan said Wednesday that Stasko stepped down as president under terms of his employment agreement that were amended following the appointment of Kelly Martin as the company’s CEO. Stasko has also left Novan’s board of directors. He remains chief scientific officer. In other moves, Carri Geer, Novan’s vice president of pharmaceutical development, was promoted to senior vice president and chief technology officer. Novan also promoted senior vice president Elizabeth Messersmith to chief development officer.
