On February 23, 2016, Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAPR), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapeutics, announced the appointment of Leland J. Gershell, M.D., Ph.D. as Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Gershell brings to Capricor over 15 years of experience in the biotech sector, both within the industry and in finance as an equity research analyst and healthcare investor. He will report to Dr. Linda Marbán, Capricor's Chief Executive Officer. His appointment is effective immediately. "Leland's experience in both the life sciences industry and on Wall Street is the ideal combination for Capricor. He joins the team at an exciting time in our development as we have three active clinical programs investigating our cell therapy, CAP-1002, and are also investigating our naturietic peptide therapeutic Cenderitide. We also anticipate completing our preclinical development with our exosomes program this year," said Dr. Marbán. "Over the past year, Capricor has focused on strengthening its management team to meet the needs of our growing therapeutic pipeline. Leland's expertise will further enhance Capricor's management team as it builds value for its investors." Dr. Gershell stated, "Capricor is an exciting growth story and I am delighted to be joining the company at this pivotal time in its development. I look forward to working with Dr. Marbán and the management team to leverage my expertise to help develop the strategies that will further advance the Company's development." Dr. Gershell comes to Capricor from Tonix Pharmaceuticals where he served as its Chief Financial Officer since early 2012. Prior to his corporate career, Dr.Login Or Register To Read Full Story