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Vogenx appoints Richard Gorman Chief Commercial Officer to advance mizagliflozin strategy. October 9, 2026 Richard "Rich" Gorman Vogenx, Inc. (Nasdaq: VOGX), a Raleigh, North Carolina-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases, has appointed Richard "Rich" Gorman as Chief Commercial Officer, effective October 12, 2026. Gorman, who has served as an independent director on Vogenx's Board since 2022, will transition into the newly created executive position as the company prepares to advance its lead drug candidate, mizagliflozin, into later-stage clinical development. Upon joining management, Gorman will resign from the Board of Directors and its committees. Vogenx plans to conduct a search for a new independent director. As Chief Commercial Officer, Gorman will oversee commercial operations and corporate strategy, including market development for post-bariatric hypoglycemia (PBH) and gastroparesis, long-term portfolio planning and preparations for potential commercialization across the company's pipeline. He will initially also lead business development activities, including evaluating strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities. The appointment marks an expansion of Vogenx's executive capabilities as the company begins addressing the commercial requirements associated with advancing clinical-stage treatments toward potential regulatory approval and market introduction. "Rich has been a trusted voice in our boardroom since 2022 and has helped shape the strategy that carried this Company from its early days through to the public markets," said James Green, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Vogenx. Green said the company's advancement of mizagliflozin is creating a greater need for commercial planning, particularly in defining potential treatment markets and developing strategies to reach patients with limited approved pharmaceutical options. "As we prepare to move mizagliflozin into later-stage development, the questions in front of us will be increasingly commercial ones: how we define these markets and how we prepare to reach patients who today have limited or no FDA-approved drug treatment options," Green said. Gorman brings approximately 30 years of commercial leadership experience in the life sciences industry, including involvement in more than 25 pharmaceutical product launches across U.S. and international markets. His experience spans specialty pharmaceuticals, rare diseases and metabolic treatments, with products that achieved peak sales ranging from $350 million to more than $3 billion. Throughout his career, Gorman has worked with development-stage pharmaceutical companies preparing for commercialization, including establishing sales and distribution infrastructure, developing pricing strategies, securing market access and addressing regulatory requirements associated with product launches. His experience also includes several metabolic disease launches, including work on the U.S. launch strategy for one of the first GLP-1 receptor agonists. Most recently, Gorman served as President of Life Science Commercialization and Strategic Consulting at Envision Pharma Group, following the combination of its Two Labs and Strategic Consulting businesses. In that position, he led advisory services focused on launch readiness, health economics, pricing and commercialization strategy for emerging biopharmaceutical companies preparing to introduce their first products. Previously, Gorman was Chief Commercial Officer and Global Head of Strategy at Amplity Health. He also served as Global Head of Commercial Business Development at Syneos Health, where he helped develop integrated clinical and commercial strategies for biopharmaceutical clients. His responsibilities included supporting companies through pre-approval medical communications, commercialization planning, post-approval operations and product launches. Earlier in his career, Gorman served as Chief Executive Officer of a specialty pharmaceutical company and held senior leadership positions at Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Thergen, Tiber Laboratories and Gorbec Pharmaceutical Services. He began his career in pharmaceutical sales and marketing at Marion Laboratories. Gorman holds a bachelor's degree from John Carroll University and an MBA from the University of South Florida. At Vogenx, his immediate priorities will include evaluating the commercial opportunities for mizagliflozin, the company's lead therapeutic candidate. Vogenx is developing mizagliflozin for post-bariatric hypoglycemia, gastroparesis and GIP-dependent Cushing's Syndrome. Post-bariatric hypoglycemia involves episodes of low blood glucose following bariatric surgery, while gastroparesis is a gastrointestinal condition characterized by delayed stomach emptying. Both conditions can present significant treatment challenges, creating a need for additional therapeutic approaches. As Vogenx advances its development programs, commercial planning will involve assessing patient populations, treatment pathways, physician engagement, potential reimbursement requirements and the infrastructure needed to support a future launch. Gorman's responsibilities will also include evaluating business development and licensing arrangements that could support the company's clinical pipeline and longer-term growth strategy. "I have spent years watching this team do a great deal in a capital efficient manner, and the need for mizagliflozin has only gotten stronger," Gorman said. "PBH and gastroparesis are serious, underserved conditions with limited pharmacological options, and I am glad to be joining the leadership team at this pivotal time for the Company." Vogenx is focused on developing novel therapeutics for serious metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases with substantial unmet medical needs. The creation of the Chief Commercial Officer position adds dedicated commercial leadership alongside the company's clinical development activities, allowing Vogenx to begin preparing market access, partnership and launch strategies while its therapeutic candidates remain under development. Gorman's transition from the Board to executive management also provides continuity in corporate strategy as the company moves toward later-stage development of mizagliflozin and evaluates the requirements for potential commercialization.

Make or break: Commercial hires critical for success. July 23, 2026 | With the stakes for successful launches high, and demand for commercial roles increasing, biopharmas must thoughtfully approach not only hiring but also retention. During a BioSpace webinar, experienced commercial leaders and a recruiter discussed the challenges employers face and how to tackle them. As more companies prepare to launch drug candidates, roles that support those launches are in greater demand, based on BioSpace job posting data. Last month, there was a 38% year-over-year increase in sales, marketing and medical affairs jobs live on the website. However, it's not always easy to find the right commercial talent, as discussed during a BioSpace webinar Wednesday. One reason it can be challenging to find the right talent is that given high demand, candidates can be selective, said Margaret Blackwell, global head of talent acquisition and recruiting services at Amplity. Amplity partnered with BioSpace on the "From Clinical to Commercial: Talent Strategies for Biopharma Growth" webinar. "Candidates are evaluating employers as much as employers are evaluating the candidates," Blackwell said. "The employers we see that really win are considerate of the candidate's time." She added that these companies don't delay the hiring process, which is important because that could drive job seekers to decline offers. Kerry Need, a seasoned commercial and clinical development leader formerly of Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Seagen, said another reason commercial roles can be tough to fill is the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way people, especially earlier-career professionals, work. That talent has matured, come into leadership roles and isn't as willing to move to larger cities, he explained. As to when companies should start thinking about building a commercial team, Need said that can depend on multiple factors such as organization size, whether the business is scaling globally or doing a U.S. launch and if it needs to work with payers early on. Michael Campbell, chief commercial officer at Eyepoint, agreed that company dynamics influence when - and how - to build out a team. He noted that for a small to medium-sized biopharma like his that hasn't commercialized in several years and is working toward a launch, it's important to get hiring right early in the process. "I don't have the luxury to not have everything in place at launch to be successful," Campbell said. "It's less about what can I wait to hire and more about what can I flex to address the marketplace?" For example, he said, for another launch he thought he had enough field reimbursement managers. However, three to four months into that launch, Campbell needed to reallocate headcount to put more managers in the market. Once companies decide they're ready to build out their commercial teams, they're looking for hard and soft skills in their candidates, according to the panelists. For example, Campbell noted the importance of prospective employees being able to work in complex environments from a marketplace standpoint and being collaborative, while Need highlighted wanting people who demonstrate initiative. "I want fire in the belly, that intrinsic motivation," Need said. "I don't want somebody to say, 'Tell me how to do this' and 'What do I need to do?'" In oncology, Blackwell noted a need for candidates who not only demonstrate clinical acumen and understand the science but who also have integrity. In addition, she considers how people might perform if they move to an organization that's larger or smaller than their most recent employer. People who need a lot of handholding, for example, might not do well going to a small company, while those who aren't used to a lot of structure might not comfortably make the jump to a large pharma. When it comes to selecting the right candidate for a company's specific culture, Campbell had a simple suggestion for employers: Slow down. "The only way to reduce your risk around this area is to slow down and spend more time with your candidates," he said. Making the right hire isn't always the end of the story for those building commercial teams. Blackwell noted that retention can be an issue, with competitors poaching each other's employees. She said she's seen an uptick in that activity in the oncology and rare disease spaces. Campbell, who agreed that poaching is a reality, offered advice for offsetting it. "The best you can do, I think, is create an environment where people feel developed, where they feel trusted, where they feel empowered, where they feel wanted," he said. "It's not that you're not going to have turnover, but you do reduce your retention risk for sure." Need echoed that sentiment. "People are our most valuable asset, and they're going to determine if a launch is going to be successful or not," he said. "Invest in your people like you do in the rest of your business." Job market trends, layoffs and career advice to manage your life sciences career Angela Gabriel is content manager, life sciences careers, at BioSpace. She covers the biopharma job market, job trends and career advice, and produces client content. You can reach her at [email protected] and follow her on LinkedIn.