Santhera Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative treatments for rare mitochondrial and neuromuscular diseases, announced that it will be establishing U.S. operations in Burlington, Mass.

Santhera’s U.S. operations are being led by Todd Bazemore, Chief Operating Officer of Santhera Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc. The U.S. operations will initially be staffed to focus on regulatory and clinical operations support, medical affairs, patient advocacy liaison and commercial strategy.

"A strong presence in the U.S. is an important next step in our mission to advance novel treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other rare neuromuscular and mitochondrial diseases," said Todd Bazemore, COO of Santhera U.S. "We chose the metropolitan Boston area for our U.S. operations because it is one of the main centers for the biotech and pharma business globally with a unique confluence of academia, life science companies, and clinical expertise."