Ardelyx Appoints Mike Kelliher Chief Business Officer and James P. Brady Chief Human Resources Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Ardelyx (ARDX) has announced key leadership changes with Mike Kelliher's promotion to Chief Business Officer and James P. Brady's appointment as Chief Human Resources Officer. Kelliher, who joined in March 2024 as EVP of Corporate Development and Strategy, will now oversee lifecycle and portfolio management alongside his existing responsibilities. His background includes significant experience at Horizon Therapeutics, where he played a key role in growth initiatives and acquisitions. Brady joins from Spero Therapeutics, where he served as CHRO and helped earn Best Places to Work recognition. He brings extensive HR experience from roles at uniQure, Intarcia Therapeutics, and Genzyme Corporation. These appointments align with Ardelyx's strategy to strengthen its leadership team for continued growth and value creation.

Positive

• Strategic leadership expansion with experienced executives in key roles
• Kelliher brings valuable M&A and business development experience from successful tenure at Horizon Therapeutics
• Brady's proven track record in building high-performing teams and earning workplace recognition

Negative

• None.

WALTHAM, Mass., June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ardelyx, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDX), a biopharmaceutical company founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative, first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs, today announced that Mike Kelliher, formerly Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, has been promoted to Chief Business Officer, and James P. Brady has joined the company as Chief Human Resources Officer.

Since joining Ardelyx in March 2024, Mr. Kelliher has established himself as important leader driving Ardelyx’s long-term growth and value creation strategies. In his newly expanded role as Chief Business Officer, Mr. Kelliher will be responsible for lifecycle and portfolio management, in addition to his previous responsibilities for business development and corporate strategy.

Mr. Brady is a purpose-driven human resources executive with a proven track record of building organizations, leaders and teams in transformational life science and digital innovation technologies. Mr. Brady will be responsible for HR strategy and processes related to building and retaining a high performing team that can effectively support Ardelyx’s continued growth. 

“As we continue to grow and evolve our business, it is imperative that we have high caliber leaders, like Mike and Jamie, who will enable us to accelerate our momentum and deliver long-term impact for patients and shareholders,” said Mike Raab, Ardelyx president and chief executive officer. “Mike’s experiences, business intuition and leadership have brought incredible value to Ardelyx since his joining, and I am pleased to appoint him to this new role to expand his influence and responsibility. In addition, I’m incredibly excited to welcome Jamie to Ardelyx. A highly talented human resources executive, Jamie brings extensive experience in all aspects of people development and will be an influential part of advancing key business initiatives and talent strategies that align with our mission and objectives.”

Prior to joining Ardelyx, Mr. Kelliher served as Group Vice President, M&A and Business Development, at Horizon Therapeutics. Mr. Kelliher joined Horizon in 2014 and held roles of increasing responsibility on the team that led a successful growth and expansion agenda through acquisitions, development collaborations and other transactions, including the acquisition of Horizon by Amgen. Before his time at Horizon, from 2009 to 2014, Mr. Kelliher held financial roles at Elan Corporation (now Perrigo Company) and began his career in banking, public accounting and corporate finance. Mr. Kelliher currently serves on the board of directors of Capricor Therapeutics. Mr. Kelliher earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University College Cork (Ireland) and is an Associated Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Brady has extensive human resources and organizational and talent development experience. Most recently, Mr. Brady served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Spero Therapeutics. While at Spero, Mr. Brady oversaw all aspects of the human resources function and was instrumental in implementing the company’s hybrid work model and earning the company a Best Places to Work recognition by the Boston Business Journal. Prior to Spero, Mr. Brady held the role of Chief Human Resources Officer at uniQure, as well as roles of increasing responsibility at Intarcia Therapeutics, Genzyme Corporation, and Thomson Financial. Mr. Brady earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Marietta College and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University.

About Ardelyx
Ardelyx was founded with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize innovative, first-in-class medicines that meet significant unmet medical needs. Ardelyx has two commercial products approved in the United States, IBSRELA^® (tenapanor) and XPHOZAH^® (tenapanor). Ardelyx has agreements for the development and commercialization of tenapanor outside of the U.S. Kyowa Kirin commercializes PHOZEVEL^® (tenapanor) for hyperphosphatemia in Japan. A New Drug Application for tenapanor for hyperphosphatemia has been approved in China with Fosun Pharma. Knight Therapeutics commercializes IBSRELA in Canada. For more information, please visit https://ardelyx.com/ and connect with us on X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn and Facebook.

Investor and Media Contacts:
Caitlin Lowie
clowie@ardelyx.com

FAQ

Who is the new Chief Business Officer at Ardelyx (ARDX)?

Mike Kelliher has been promoted to Chief Business Officer at Ardelyx. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy since March 2024.

Who was appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer at Ardelyx (ARDX)?

James P. Brady was appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer at Ardelyx. He previously served as CHRO at Spero Therapeutics.

What are Mike Kelliher's responsibilities as Ardelyx's new CBO?

As Chief Business Officer, Mike Kelliher will be responsible for lifecycle and portfolio management, business development, and corporate strategy.

What is James Brady's background before joining Ardelyx (ARDX)?

Brady previously served as CHRO at Spero Therapeutics and uniQure, with additional experience at Intarcia Therapeutics, Genzyme Corporation, and Thomson Financial.

What was Mike Kelliher's role before joining Ardelyx?

Before joining Ardelyx, Kelliher served as Group Vice President of M&A and Business Development at Horizon Therapeutics from 2014, where he led growth and expansion through acquisitions and transactions.