Adrian Adams steps down as CEO of Seattle's Impel Pharmaceuticals

Seattle-based Impel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: IMPL) is getting a new CEO.

In a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Impel announced Adrian Adams would resign effective Nov. 4 from his positions as CEO, president and chairman of the board. Leonard Paolillo, currently the company's chief commercial officer, will take over as interim president and CEO.

"After leading six public companies, I am retiring from full-time CEO responsibilities to focus on my current and evolving board responsibilities going forward," Adams said in a statement to the Business Journal. "I am proud of what has been achieved at Impel."

Adams has led Impel as CEO for almost four years, according to his LinkedIn page, before which he spent more than two years as CEO of Aralez Pharmaceuticals. His previous CEO roles have included Auxilium Pharmaceuticals and Inspire Pharmaceuticals.

Paolillo has been Impel's chief commercial officer since March 2021. Before that, he spent roughly seven years at the U.S. subsidiary of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin. Earlier in his career, he spent almost 11 years at the pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott.

Impel was founded in 2008. The company makes a nasal spray treatment for migraines called Trudhesa that is delivered through the upper nasal space. Trudhesa gained Food and Drug Administration approval in September 2021. According to the company, targeting the vascular-rich upper nasal space allows for rapid absorption.

Impel went public through an $80 million initial public offering in April 2021. The company had net sales of $6.6 million during the second quarter, up from $2.8 million during the same period last year. It operated at a net loss of $16.1 million during the second quarter.

On April 11, Impel received notice it wasn't complying with Nasdaq listing rules around the value of its listed securities and publicly held securities. The company failed to regain compliance and got a letter Oct. 10 saying it faced delisting. The company is appealing the delisting, which pauses the potential delisting.