ARS Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Leadership Team with Appointment of Industry Veteran Donn Casale as President
SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to empowering patients and their caregivers to better protect against severe allergic reactions that can lead to anaphylaxis, today announced the appointment of Donn Casale as President, effective June 1, 2026. Richard Lowenthal will continue to lead ARS Pharma as Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Casale is a 25-year biopharmaceutical commercial leader with extensive experience scaling innovative products in large consumer-driven healthcare markets, including categories where patients seek therapies that help reduce the risk of future serious medical events. As President, Mr. Casale will oversee global commercial operations and growth infrastructure as ARS Pharma prepares for its next phase of expansion, including advancement into chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). He will partner closely with the executive leadership team to help drive the company's next phase of commercial and organizational growth.
"We are very pleased to welcome Donn to the ARS team, where he will play a key role in leading our commercial strategy for neffy® (epinephrine nasal spray) and accelerating adoption and sales growth," said Richard Lowenthal, Co-founder and CEO of ARS Pharma. "Donn has built and led commercial organizations that successfully scaled innovative products in large, patient-driven markets similar to our own. His expertise in retail channel execution and payor access strategy will help further expand patient access and accelerate adoption of neffy, while also preparing ARS Pharma for its next phase of growth, including expansion into CSU. We look forward to the strategic perspective and leadership he will bring as we continue expanding access to lifesaving treatments for patients at risk of severe Type I allergic reactions."
Mr. Casale most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer at Dynavax Technologies, where he built the U.S. commercial infrastructure and helped scale the hepatitis B vaccine HEPLISAV-B® from launch to more than $300 million in annualized revenue and over 50 percent U.S. market share. He engineered a transformative commercial strategy and innovative retail pharmacy model that helped position HEPLISAV-B for significant commercial growth prior to Sanofi's $2.2 billion acquisition of Dynavax.
Prior to Dynavax, Mr. Casale held marketing and commercial operations leadership roles at Depomed (now Assertio Therapeutics) and spent 14 years at Merck in progressive leadership roles across the U.S. vaccines business, spanning sales leadership and commercial strategy. Mr. Casale holds a B.A. in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
"As the first and only needle-free, easy-to-carry epinephrine nasal spray approved in the U.S., neffy has fundamentally changed what is possible in the treatment of severe allergic reactions," said Mr. Casale. "I believe we have a profound responsibility to increase awareness of the critical need for epinephrine and to serve as a tireless advocate for patients and caregivers. neffy represents a compelling opportunity to redefine preparedness and access in severe allergic reactions, and I look forward to helping drive ARS Pharma's next phase of growth."
About ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ARS Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to empowering at-risk patients and their caregivers to better protect patients against allergic reactions that could lead to anaphylaxis. The Company is commercializing neffy® (trade name EURneffy® in the EU and UK and 优敏速® in China), an epinephrine nasal spray indicated in the U.S. for emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, in adult patients and pediatric patients who weigh 33 lbs. or greater, and in the EU for emergency treatment of allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) due to insect stings or bites, foods, medicinal products, and other allergens as well as idiopathic or exercise induced anaphylaxis in adults and children who weigh 15 kg or greater. For more information, visit www.ars-pharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to: the skillset and experience of ARS Pharma's new president and expectations with respect to his future contributions to ARS Pharma and ARS Pharma's ability to expand or grow its business; and other statements that are not historical fact. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "expect," "if," "may," "on track to/for," "potential," "plan," "will," "would," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon ARS Pharmaceuticals' current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect.
Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: potential safety and other complications from neffy; the ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for neffy in its currently approved indications; the scope, progress and expansion of developing and commercializing neffy; the scope, progress and expansion of developing our intranasal epinephrine technology; clinical trial results; the potential for governments and payors to delay, limit or deny coverage for neffy; the size and growth of the market for neffy and the rate and degree of market acceptance thereof vis-à-vis intramuscular injectable products; ARS Pharma's ability to protect its intellectual property position; and the impact of government laws, regulations and policies. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption "Risk Factors" in ARS Pharma's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 9, 2026. This document can also be accessed on ARS Pharma's website at www.ars-pharma.com by clicking on the link "Financials & Filings" under the "Investors & Media" tab.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. ARS Pharma assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. For more information, visit www.ars-pharma.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
ARS Investor Contacts:
Justin Chakma
ARS Pharmaceuticals
justinc@ars-pharma.com
ARS Media Contact:
Christy Curran
Sam Brown Inc.
615.414.8668
christycurran@sambrown.com
