Achieve Life Sciences Appoints Three Verona Pharma Commercial Veterans Ahead of Cytisinicline FDA Review

With a $354 million financing package already in place and an FDA decision on cytisinicline on the horizon, Achieve Life Sciences is assembling a commercial infrastructure that signals the company expects to move from pre-approval to launch-ready within a compressed window. The three appointments announced on 12 May 2026 reunite the core team behind the U.S. launch of Ohtuvayre® (ensifentrine) at Verona Pharma, a program that ended with a $10.8 billion acquisition by Merck & Co. in October 2025.

Christopher Martin, who served as Chief Commercial Officer at Verona Pharma, joins Achieve's Board of Directors. Mark Zappia, who led commercial operations during the Ohtuvayre launch, joins as Senior Vice President, Commercial. Jim Willis, who directed the national field force during the same period, joins as Vice President of Sales and Sales Enablement. The three appointments follow CEO Andrew D. Goldberg's own tenure at Verona Pharma, where he observed the team's execution directly before joining Achieve in April 2026.

For regulatory and commercial operations leads tracking cytisinicline's development path, the financing structure is a relevant data point. The $354 million facility includes $180 million upfront and up to $174 million in milestone-based warrants explicitly tied to FDA approval — a structure that places measurable commercial pressure on the approval timeline and on the readiness of the launch organisation behind it. Achieve is positioning cytisinicline as a potential first-in-class therapy for both smoking and vaping cessation, a dual indication that would require distinct field force segmentation and market access strategies at launch.

On the governance side, Tom King will step down from the Board in June 2026, with Dr. Lucian Iancovici assuming the role of Chairman. The transition consolidates a board composition that now includes direct specialty pharma launch experience at the director level, alongside the incoming commercial leadership.

The milestone-based warrant structure means that the pace of FDA review will directly govern when the second tranche of financing becomes accessible, making the agency's action date a financial as well as a regulatory inflection point for the organisation.

Source: Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. via GlobeNewswire press release, 12 May 2026.