Omeros Hires Michael K. Inouye to Lead Commercial Operations

SEATTLE, Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with marketing applications for its lead product OMS302 for use during lens replacement surgery currently under review in both the US and Europe, today announced the appointment of Michael K. Inouye as vice president, commercial operations.

Mr. Inouye has over 20 years of management experience in the pharmaceutical industry.  His experience includes positions as senior vice president, corporate and commercial development for Pharmacyclics, and senior vice president, commercial operations at Telik. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of commercial operations at Gilead Sciences from 1995 to 2004 where he developed and led the worldwide commercial organization through four product launches while Gilead grew from a research and development organization to an international commercial company.  Before Gilead, he was vice president sales and marketing at InSite Vision, an ophthalmic drug delivery company.  Prior to his biopharma experience he held management positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and business development over 13 years at Merck US Human Health. From 2005 through its acquisition by Gilead in 2012, Mr. Inouye served on the board of directors of Pharmasset.

"We are very pleased that Mike has joined Omeros," said Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., Omeros' chairman and chief executive officer. "With his deep expertise in building commercial organizations and his proven track record of successful drug-product launches, Mike is an important part of our team as we prepare for and execute the 2014 planned launch of OMS302. Given his breadth of experience, I expect that Mike will also play a key role in advancing the rest of our pipeline toward commercialization."

"The strength of Omeros' management team and the potential of its product pipeline are impressive," stated Mr. Inouye.  "OMS302 represents the beginning of Omeros' transition from an R&D organization to a commercial company, and I am honored to play a role in this phase of corporate growth."

Mr. Inouye received a B.S. in Food & Science Technology from the University of California at Davis and an M.B.A. from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

About Omeros Corporation
Omeros is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing small-molecule and protein therapeutics targeting inflammation, coagulopathies and disorders of the central nervous system. Derived from its proprietary PharmacoSurgery® platform, the Company's lead drug product, OMS302 for lens replacement surgery, is currently under review for marketing approval by both the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency with commercial launch planned for 2014. Omeros' five other clinical programs are focused on schizophrenia, Huntington's disease and cognitive impairment; addictive and compulsive disorders; complement-related diseases; and preventing problems associated with surgical procedures. Omeros also has a proprietary GPCR platform, which is making available an unprecedented number of new GPCR drug targets and corresponding compounds to the pharmaceutical industry for drug development.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections for such statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding the commercialization and planned launch of OMS302. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. Omeros' actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2013. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, even if new information becomes available in the future.

SOURCE Omeros Corporation