Capricor Therapeutics announced that the Company has appointed Michael Kelliher to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Kelliher, Group Vice President of M&A and Business Development at Horizon Therapeutics, brings to Capricor extensive expertise in business development, strategy, finance and operational leadership across the life sciences industry. Mr. Kelliher is an experienced business development and finance professional with expertise in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and licensing, with a career spanning more than 20 years with leading biotechnology and global pharmaceutical companies.

He currently serves as Group Vice President, M&A and Business Development, at Horizon Therapeutics, a publicly traded global biotechnology company focused on researching, developing and commercializing medicines for rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases. Mr. Kelliher joined Horizon in 2014 and led an aggressive growth and expansion agenda through acquisitions, development collaborations and other transactions. He was instrumental in transforming Horizon into a $28 billion innovation-driven biotech company.

Prior to his time at Horizon, from 2009 to 2014, Mr. Kelliher held progressive financial roles at Elan Corporation (now Perrigo Company), a leading global pharmaceutical company where he oversaw strategic partnerships and collaborations and advised its Board of Directors and senior leadership on investments, business development, product commercialization and asset monetization. Mr. Kelliher began his career in banking, public accounting and corporate finance and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University College Cork (Ireland). He is also an Associated Chartered Accountant.