COPPELL, Texas & MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZS Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing a novel treatment for hyperkalemia, today announced that Todd Creech has joined the company as chief financial officer. He also will serve as a member of ZS Pharma’s executive team. <br /><br /> “ZS Pharma is at a key inflection point in our development and commercialization efforts for ZS-9 for the treatment of hyperkalemia, and we are very happy to welcome Todd into the fold,” said Robert Alexander, executive chairman of ZS Pharma. “Todd’s established financial management experience, particularly with private bioscience companies that are working to support the development and commercialization of clinical programs, makes him a true asset and a great fit here at ZS Pharma.”<br /><br />Prior to joining ZS Pharma, Creech was CFO and vice president of business development at Sarcode Biosciences, where he led all financing, legal, accounting and corporate development activities prior to its acquisition by Shire Pharmaceuticals in August 2013. Previously, Creech was CFO of Sirion Therapeutics, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. During his tenure with Sirion, he raised $100 million in debt and equity financing to support the development of six late-stage clinical programs and two NDA approvals, and led the sale of Sirion’s drug assets to Alcon and Bausch and Lomb. Earlier in his career, Creech worked at NovaQuest, where he structured, placed and managed capital investments into U.S. emerging biotech and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Prior to that, he co-founded Centice, an optical sensor that was spun out from Duke University in 2003. Additionally, Creech has more than 10 years of experience consulting with biotech and high-tech companies while employed at SRI International and Andersen Consulting. He holds bachelor's degrees in finance and accounting from Miami (Ohio) University and an M.B.A. from Duke University.<br /><br />“ZS Pharma is in a great position as we will soon complete a pivotal clinical trial of ZS-9, which has the potential to be a safer and more effective treatment for hyperkalemia than therapies currently on the market,” said Creech. “I'm excited to work with the great team at ZS Pharma to help advance the company through its next stages of growth.”<br /><br />About Hyperkalemia<br /><br />Hyperkalemia, or higher than normal potassium levels (typically defined as a serum potassium level >5 mEq/L), is a life-threatening metabolic condition that can lead to arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Hyperkalemia is characterized by abnormally high concentrations of potassium in the blood resulting from the inability of the kidneys to excrete potassium, impairment of mechanisms that transport potassium into cells, or a combination of both factors. Causes of hyperkalemia can vary; however, most hyperkalemia is a consequence of renal disease, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension or side effects from cardio-renal protective drug therapy, such as renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors.<br /><br />The rise in chronic medical conditions commonly associated with hyperkalemia highlights an unmet medical need for a therapy that is safe, rapid and predictable, and offers a favorable side effect profile.<br /><br />About ZS Pharma<br /><br />ZS Pharma is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company based in Menlo Park, Calif., and Coppell, Texas. ZS Pharma’s lead therapeutic candidate, ZS-9, is in Phase 3 clinical trials. It is being developed to treat hyperkalemia, a potentially life-threatening metabolic condition characterized by an abnormally high serum concentration of potassium. ZS Pharma is also pursuing the discovery of additional drug candidates that utilize its novel selective ion-trap technology for the treatment of kidney and liver diseases. Additional information is available at www.zspharma.com. 