Donn Casale

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has appointed Donn Casale as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, following a leadership transition in which co-founder and former CEO Richard Lowenthal stepped down from his role as an employee and officer of the company.

Casale currently serves as President of ARS Pharmaceuticals and brings more than 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical commercialization, business strategy, and executive leadership. Throughout his career, he has successfully led the launch and expansion of innovative therapies and vaccines across large patient-focused healthcare markets.

Before joining ARS Pharmaceuticals, Casale served as Chief Commercial Officer at Dynavax Technologies, where he established the company’s U.S. commercial organization and played a key role in expanding the hepatitis B vaccine HEPLISAV-B®. Under his commercial leadership, the product grew from its initial launch to more than US$300 million in annualized revenue while capturing over 50% of the U.S. market. The company’s commercial success ultimately positioned Dynavax for Sanofi’s US$2.2 billion acquisition.

Earlier, Casale held senior leadership roles at Depomed, where he supported the commercialization of GRALISE® and NUCYNTA® through marketing and sales operations. He also spent 14 years at Merck, serving in progressively senior positions across sales, marketing, and corporate strategy. During his tenure, he contributed to the successful launches of several major vaccines, including ZOSTAVAX®, GARDASIL®, ROTATEQ®, and PROQUAD®.

As CEO, Casale will lead ARS Pharmaceuticals as the company continues advancing its mission of providing innovative therapies that help patients and caregivers better manage severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.