Achieve Names Two New Exemplary Healthcare Leaders to its Board of Directors
New Leadership and Financing, up to $354 Million ($180 Million Upfront and $174 Million Dependent on the Exercise of Milestone Warrants), Strengthen Achieve’s Position to Execute Development and Launch of Cytisinicline, if Approved, as the First New Treatment for Nicotine Dependence in Two Decades
SEATTLE and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACHV) today announced it has appointed Andrew D. Goldberg, MD, as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective following the closing of Achieve’s recently announced financing. Dr. Goldberg is a dual board-certified physician who has spent his career at the intersection of medicine and business, advising, investing in, and governing pharmaceutical companies as they navigate the complexities of commercialization.
"On behalf of the Board, I'm pleased to welcome Andrew as CEO," said Thomas King, chairman of Achieve's Board of Directors. "His clinical experience as a practicing physician, combined with his proven track record in healthcare investment and commercial strategy, make him ideally suited to drive operational excellence, financial execution and shareholder value for Achieve. I also want to thank Rick for his exceptional leadership in building this Company. His continued presence on the Board will be invaluable as we work to bring cytisinicline to market."
Richard Stewart, outgoing President & CEO and co-founder of Achieve, said, “I am proud of the company we have built and the progress we have made advancing cytisinicline toward potential FDA approval. Achieve is well-positioned to help millions of Americans overcome nicotine dependence. I have full confidence in Andrew's ability to execute our commercial strategy and bring cytisinicline to market. I look forward to supporting the Company as a member of the Board as we work towards delivering this much-needed treatment to the people who need it most.”
"As a physician in both intensive care units and emergency departments, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating harms smoking inflicts on the lives of patients and their families," said Dr. Goldberg, incoming CEO. "Cytisinicline represents a generational public health opportunity to combat both smoking—the leading cause of preventable death—and the rapid rise of vaping, which is putting a new generation at risk. I am honored to build on the excellent work Rick and the Achieve team have done to advance cytisinicline, and I am grateful to our new and existing investors for supporting our mission to deliver a new option to the many millions ready to quit."
Achieve has also appointed the following individuals to serve as members of the Company’s Board of Directors, effective upon the closing of the financing:
- Lucian Iancovici, MD: Managing Director at TPG with extensive experience in advising and investing in emerging life sciences companies.
- Aaron E. Royston, MD: Managing Partner at venBio with more than 15 years of experience in life sciences investing, company formation, and clinical research.
Leadership Biographies
Andrew D. Goldberg, MD, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Goldberg is a physician, healthcare investor, and governance leader who has spent his career at the intersection of clinical medicine and commercial execution. Most recently, he served as a Portfolio Manager at Marshall Wace and previously as a Partner at Vivo Capital, a healthcare-focused investment firm. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Silicon Valley, advising pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies.
He has served as a board director or observer at 19 life sciences companies, including Tarsus Pharmaceuticals through FDA approval and the national launch and commercialization of XDEMVY, and Elektrofi through its $900M acquisition by Halozyme Therapeutics. As lead investor, he anchored the U.S. market transition for Verona Pharma, culminating in the $10.8B acquisition by Merck, and led the pre-IPO investment in Harmony Biosciences, which scaled WAKIX into a new category in sleep medicine.
Dr. Goldberg is among the first physicians in the United States to earn dual board certification in Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He served as an Instructor in Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, where he completed a Critical Care fellowship, after training in Emergency Medicine at LAC+USC. He has over 25 scientific publications including research on tobacco advertising, published in JAMA, that examined youth targeting and contributed to public-health initiatives that earned him the Oregon Governor's Council Outstanding Achievement Award. Dr. Goldberg received his MD from The George Washington University School of Medicine and a post-doctoral diploma in translational science from the Mayo Graduate School.
Lucian Iancovici, MD, Director
Dr. Iancovici is a Managing Director at TPG, a leading global alternative asset management firm, where he has worked since January 2018. He brings extensive experience in digital health and life sciences investing, with previous roles as head of the Qualcomm Life Fund (a venture fund focused on digital health technologies) and as a general partner at dRx Capital (a joint venture launched by Novartis and Qualcomm). Dr. Iancovici also formerly served as an associate at McKinsey & Company. He is a board-certified internal medicine physician who trained at Columbia University Medical Center and currently serves on the boards of Sionna Therapeutics, Ceribell, Sling Therapeutics, Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, and Anovo. Dr. Iancovici received a BA in Economics and an MD from Tufts University.
Aaron E. Royston, MD, Director
Dr. Royston is a Managing Partner at venBio with more than 15 years of experience in life sciences investing, company formation, and clinical research. He has been instrumental in launching and investing in numerous venBio companies, including Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Akero Therapeutics, Harmony Biosciences, Ventyx BioSciences, RayzeBio and ViceBio, whose efforts have collectively contributed to seven FDA approvals. Prior to joining venBio, Dr. Royston was a member of the investment team at Vivo Capital and previously worked at Bain & Company, where he counseled biotechnology companies on strategic and operational issues. In 2010, he was recognized by the United States White House as a Champion of Change for his work in Technology and Innovation. Dr. Royston received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Duke University and his MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.
About Achieve Life Sciences, Inc.
Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. is a late-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the global development and commercialization of cytisinicline as a treatment of nicotine dependence. In September 2025, the company announced that its New Drug Application, submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2025, had been accepted for review. The FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of June 20, 2026. The NDA is for cytisinicline to be used as a treatment of nicotine dependence for smoking cessation in adults, based on two successfully completed Phase 3 studies and its open-label safety study. Additionally, the company has completed a Phase 2 study with cytisinicline in vaping cessation and conducted a successful end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA for a future vaping indication.
About Cytisinicline
There are approximately 25 million adults in the United States who smoke combustible cigarettes.1 Tobacco use is currently the leading cause of preventable death that is responsible for more than eight million deaths worldwide and nearly half a million deaths in the United States annually.2,3
In addition, there are nearly 18 million adults in the United States who use e-cigarettes, also known as vaping.1 In 2024, approximately 1.6 million middle and high school students in the United States reported using e-cigarettes.4 There are no FDA-approved treatments indicated specifically as an aid to nicotine e-cigarette cessation. FDA has awarded the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher for e-cigarette or vaping cessation and granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to address this critical need.
Cytisinicline is a plant-based alkaloid with a high binding affinity to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. It is believed to aid in treating nicotine addiction for smoking and e-cigarette cessation by interacting with nicotine receptors in the brain, reducing the severity of nicotine craving symptoms, and reducing the reward and satisfaction associated with nicotine products. Cytisinicline is an investigational product candidate being developed as a treatment of nicotine dependence for smoking cessation and has not been approved by the FDA for any indication in the United States.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements Achieve makes regarding the timing, nature and outcome of cytisinicline clinical development and regulatory review and approval, data results, the timing, nature and success of Achieve’s commercialization activities, the potential market size for cytisinicline, the potential benefits, efficacy, safety and tolerability of cytisinicline, the development and effectiveness of new treatments, the performance of Achieve’s third-party manufacturing partners, the successful launch and commercialization of cytisinicline, the closing of the private placement, Achieve Life Sciences’ use of the proceeds from the private placement, the resignation and appointment of executive officers, the appointment of directors, and statements concerning Achieve Life Sciences’ future plans and prospects. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Achieve may not actually achieve its plans or product development goals in a timely manner, if at all, or otherwise carry out its intentions or meet its expectations or projections disclosed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including Achieve’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Achieve undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.
Achieve Contact
Nicole Jones
VP, Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Relations
ir@achievelifesciences.com
425-686-1510
References
1Agaku I. Tobacco Product Use among U.S. Adults, 2023–2024, NEJM, doi: 10.1056/EVIDpha2500339.
2World Health Organization. WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2017.
3U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking – 50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014.
4Jamal A, Park-Lee E, Birdsey J, et al. Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2024. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:917–924.
