Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Appoints Mardi C. Dier as Chief Financial Officer

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDGL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel therapeutics for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), today announced that Mardi C. Dier has been appointed Chief Financial Officer.

Ms. Dier has spent more than 20 years in executive financial leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry, with deep experience in operational and strategic decision making, capital raising, financial planning and accounting (FP&A), global supply chain management, investor relations and business development. She has held Chief Financial Officer positions at Portola Pharmaceuticals, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., and Acelyrin, Inc.

Bill Sibold, Chief Executive Officer of Madrigal, stated, “Mardi has an outstanding track record of experience helping biopharmaceutical companies scale for commercial success, and her diverse operational and strategic capabilities make her an ideal addition to the leadership team as Madrigal enters its next phase of expansion and growth.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Madrigal team as the Company ramps up for the launch of resmetirom and continues to build a more fully integrated organization that will lead the way in NASH for years to come,” said Ms. Dier. “Madrigal has a unique opportunity to transform care for patients and become the next major success story for our industry.”

Ms. Dier was most recently Chief Financial Officer of Acelyrin, Inc., where she completed the company’s $621 million initial public offering before departing in August 2023. Prior to that, Ms. Dier was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Ultragenyx, responsible for leading the corporate strategy, FP&A, accounting, tax, investor relations, global corporate communications and information technology functions. Ultragenyx’s employee base grew 50% during her tenure, expanding its global commercial presence in the U.S., Latin America, Canada, Europe and Japan. She joined Ultragenyx from Portola Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Alexion), where she served as Chief Financial Officer for 14 years and, most recently, as Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Over the course of her time at Portola, Ms. Dier oversaw a wide range of functions and helped scale the organization from one site with fewer than 100 employees to a global organization with multiple sites in the U.S. and Europe and over 450 employees. Prior to Portola, she served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Chiron Corporation until its acquisition by Novartis. Earlier in her career, she worked as an investment banker at Prudential Securities and, prior to that, was in the audit department of KPMG Peat Marwick. Ms. Dier serves on the Board of Directors of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Prelude Therapeutics, Synthekine, Inc. and Health Care Royalty and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She holds a B.S. in biology from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Ms. Dier joined Madrigal on February 27, 2024, as an employee in a Senior Advisor role to the Company’s current Chief Financial Officer, Alex Howarth, and will move into the Chief Financial Officer role on March 11, 2024. Mr. Howarth is expected to continue with the Company as a Senior Advisor until March 31, 2024, to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities to Ms. Dier.

“As we welcome Mardi to the Madrigal team, I’d also like to thank our outgoing Chief Financial Officer Alex Howarth for his substantial contributions to the Company,” said Bill Sibold. “Alex served as CFO during a period of rapid growth for Madrigal and played an instrumental role in establishing the Company’s strong financial foundation. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDGL) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel therapeutics for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a liver disease with high unmet medical need. Madrigal’s lead candidate, resmetirom, is a once-daily, oral, liver-directed THR-β agonist designed to target key underlying causes of NASH. For more information, visit www.madrigalpharma.com.

Investor Contact
Tina Ventura, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., IR@madrigalpharma.com

Media Contact
Christopher Frates, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., media@madrigalpharma.com