RA’ANANA, Israel and NEW YORK, Nov. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UroGen Pharma Ltd. (NASDAQ:URGN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments to address unmet needs in the field of urology, with a focus on uro-oncology, today announced the appointment of Cynthia M. Butitta to its board of directors, effective immediately. Ms. Butitta is a seasoned financial and operational executive with over 25 years of leadership experience in both the biotechnology and high-technology industries. Most recently, Ms. Butitta served as Chief Operating Officer of Kite Pharma, where she played an instrumental role leading up to Kite Pharma’s acquisition by Gilead Sciences for approximately $11.9 billion in cash. From 2014 to 2016, Ms. Butitta served as Kite Pharma’s Chief Financial Officer.

“Cindy brings a wealth of biopharmaceutical industry experience and outstanding track record in public company operations, capital raising, strategic planning, and investor relations,” said Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, Chairman of UroGen Pharma. “Cindy’s unique blend of capabilities, relationships, and expertise will be an invaluable asset to UroGen as we enter the next phase of the Company’s growth and further advance towards our goal of becoming the leader in the field of uro-oncology.”

During her tenure at Kite Pharma, where she also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Butitta was responsible for securing over $1 billion in equity financing and oversaw the rapid growth of the organization. Prior to joining Kite, Ms. Butitta served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NextWave Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired in 2012 by Pfizer, Inc. for $700 million. Previously, Ms. Butitta served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Telik Inc., a public biotechnology company focused on the development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer, prior to its acquisition by MabVax Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to this, Ms. Butitta served as Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer for Connetics, Inc., a public biotechnology company. Ms. Butitta received a B.S. degree with honors in Business and Accounting from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and a M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“I am thrilled to join the accomplished board of directors of UroGen Pharma, particularly at such an important juncture in the Company’s growth and evolution,” stated Ms. Butitta. “I look forward to leveraging my previous experience at Kite and other high-growth companies to help UroGen attain its business objectives while creating value for patients and shareholders alike.”

In her role, Ms. Butitta will also serve as a member of the Board’s Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

About UroGen Pharma Ltd.

UroGen Pharma (NASDAQ:URGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing advanced non-surgical treatments to address unmet needs in the field of urology, with a focus on uro-oncology. The Company has developed RTGel^TM, a proprietary sustained release, hydrogel-based formulation for potentially improving therapeutic profiles of existing drugs. UroGen Pharma's sustained release technology is designed to enable longer exposure of the urinary tract tissue to medications, making local therapy a potentially more effective treatment option. UroGen Pharma's lead product candidates, MitoGel^TM and VesiGel, are designed to potentially remove tumors by non-surgical means and to treat several forms of non-muscle invasive urothelial cancer, including low-grade UTUC and bladder cancer. UroGen Pharma has offices located in both Ra’anana, Israel and New York, NY, USA.