Larimar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, focused on treatments for complex rare diseases, has appointed John Harlow as President and Chief Operating Officer, effective September 29, 2026. Harlow reports to CEO Carole Ben-Maimon, MD, and brings more than 25 years of commercial, operational, and business development experience in biopharma.
“As nomlabofusp advances toward potential approval, we are excited to welcome John to our executive team,” said Ben-Maimon, adding that his commercial and operational leadership, along with his record of turning strategy into execution, will be key as Larimar scales up and prepares to bring nomlabofusp to patients worldwide.
Mr. Harlow added, “Larimar has a unique opportunity to deliver the first potential disease-modifying therapy for adults and pediatric patients living with Friedreich’s ataxia. I look forward to working with Carole and this talented team to deliver a successful launch and position the company for long-term growth.”
About John Harlow
Harlow most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Esperion Therapeutics, where he led commercial operations, sales, marketing, business development, and global alliance management for the company’s FDA-approved oral, non-statin LDL-C-lowering therapies, overseeing a commercial organization of about 175 people. Before Esperion, he spent more than four years as Chief Commercial Officer of Melinta Therapeutics, guiding a commercial team of about 85 through a turnaround that delivered 85% revenue growth, positive cash flow, and double-digit EBITDA growth, while expanding the portfolio from antibiotics into broader acute care — work that helped position Melinta for its August 2025 acquisition by CorMedix.
Earlier, Harlow was Chief Commercial Officer at Baudax Bio, the Recro Pharma spinoff, where he led the launch of the company’s first product, ANJESO, a non-opioid injection for post-operative pain, after joining Recro as its second commercial employee and growing the team to more than 50 people ahead of launch. He has also served as Vice President and General Manager of Endo Pharmaceuticals’ $400 million Pain Business Unit, and held sales and marketing leadership roles at Shionogi, including leading a sales organization of more than 600 people. He also held senior marketing roles at King Pharmaceuticals and Alpharma, where he directed launch planning for the abuse-deterrent opioid EMBEDA, and spent nearly seven years at Novartis in sales and marketing leadership, where he was named NS Marketer of the Year.
Harlow began his career as a sales representative with Janssen and later worked as an equity research analyst covering U.S. large-cap pharma at Merrill Lynch. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for BranchLab. He holds an MBA in Pharmaceutical Management from Seton Hall University and a BS in Biology with high honors from Lehigh University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society.
About Larimar Therapeutics
Larimar Therapeutics, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for complex rare diseases. Larimar’s lead compound, nomlabofusp, is being developed as a potential treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia. Larimar also plans to use its intracellular delivery platform to design other fusion proteins to target additional rare diseases characterized by deficiencies in intracellular bioactive compounds. For more information, please visit: https://larimartx.com.
