Anika Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Joseph Darling, its President and Chief Executive Officer, passed away unexpectedly on January 29, 2020 in Upstate New York. Effective immediately, the Company's Board has established an interim Office of the President to provide ongoing leadership and oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Company while the search is conducted. The Office of the President is to be filled by Sylvia Cheung, Chief Financial Officer, James Loerop, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning, and Thomas Finnerty, Executive Vice President of Human Resources.

Anika Board member, Dr. Cheryl Blanchard, will meet regularly with the Office of the President. All will remain in their current positions while carrying out their new responsibilities. Mr. Darling joined Anika as President in July 2017 and was appointed CEO in March 2018, bringing more than 20 years of extensive experience in executive management and leadership from publicly-traded, commercial-stage companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Baxter Healthcare, Smith & Nephew, CONMED, and Wyeth-Ayerst.

Before joining Anika, Mr. Darling held executive leadership positions with two small privately held orthopedic companies. Prior to these roles, Mr. Darling held senior level executive positions at CONMED Corporation as Global President of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Linvatec Corporation, and as Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Commercial Operations.