Vivera Pharmaceuticals names new Chief Medical Officer

May 2, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBD?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#CBDlt;/agt;–Vivera
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on
non-addictive pain management, today announced the appointment of
Stephen J. McColgan, M.D., MBA, as its Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. McColgan was one of the first surgeons to perform laparoscopic
cholecystectomy, laparoscopic nissen fundoplication, and laparoscopic
gastric bypass in the Southern California area. He was Chairman of the
Department of Surgery for Bellflower Medical Center for more than 10
years and was a founding member of Endodynamix, Inc., a manufacturer of
surgical instruments.

“Vivera Pharmaceuticals was founded with the mission to harness the
potential of cannabidiol (CBD) via a research-led, pharmaceutical
approach,” said Olivia Karpinski, Executive Vice President and
Co-founder of Vivera. “The addition of Dr. McColgan to the executive
team allows us to leverage his expertise and years of medical practice
in our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic with CBD-based treatment.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were
more than 63,600 overdose deaths in the United States in 2016. In 2017,
the number of drug overdose deaths climbed to more than 70,200
Americans, with approximately 68 percent involving an opioid.

“Over the course of my 30-year career as a surgeon, I’ve watched opioids
cause total and complete devastation in patients who had originally
sought only pain relief,” said Dr. McColgan. “What drew me to Vivera was
the potential of using CBD to provide a safer, non-addictive alternative
for pain management. I’m optimistic about the impact we can have on this
national crisis.”

Dr. McColgan was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a graduate of
Boston University and the Boston University School of Medicine. He
completed his general surgery training at the University of California,
Irvine, where he served as Chief Resident. In addition, he earned an MBA
from the University of California, Irvine.

For more information, visit https://viverapharmaceuticals.com.

About Vivera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Vivera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an innovative, science-driven
pharmaceutical company focused on opioid deterrence and cessation and
non-addictive solutions for pain management.

In addition to its pharmaceutical and medical device products, the
company has global exclusivity to license the patented and
patent-pending TABMELT sublingual drug-delivery system for the
pharmaceutical use of cannabinoid compounds.

Vivera Pharmaceuticals is seeking to conduct case studies and clinical
trials on CBD in the TABMELT drug delivery format with the goal of
gaining FDA approval for its products.

The company is vertically integrated with patented technology,
manufacturing capabilities and distribution for its products.

For more information, visit https://viverapharmaceuticals.com.