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Achieve Life Sciences announced October 1, 2026, that Benjamin Halladay, CPA, will become its chief financial officer on October 5. He succeeds Mark Oki, who is stepping down from the role that day. Achieve says the appointment adds public-company and commercial-pharma finance experience as it prepares for the possible commercialization of its investigational drug candidate, cytisinicline.
What changes at Achieve Life Sciences
Halladay is to lead financial strategy, accounting, investor relations, information technology and other administrative functions, according to Achieve’s October 1, 2026 announcement. The transition is effective October 5, when Oki leaves the CFO position.
Who is Benjamin Halladay?
Achieve describes Halladay as a finance executive with more than 15 years of financial management experience and public-company CFO experience spanning commercial pharmaceuticals and business development. The company says he was CFO of Esperion Therapeutics from November 2022 through July 2026.
In its announcement, Achieve says Halladay helped Esperion deleverage its balance sheet, acquire Corstasis Therapeutics and its product Enbumyst, and lead the finance workstream through Esperion’s sale to ARCHIMED. Achieve also reports that Esperion had more than $400 million in annual revenue and that the sale had a stated maximum value of up to $1.1 billion. Those figures are from Achieve’s account of Halladay’s prior work.
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Achieve says the sale’s upfront cash consideration represented a 58% premium to Esperion’s closing share price on April 30, 2026. The premium and transaction value are figures reported by Achieve, not independently confirmed here.
Earlier in his career, Halladay held positions at Pfizer, including work on Lipitor and Chantix in its Primary Care business unit, and at National Oilwell Varco, according to Achieve. The company says he earned an MBA from Fordham University and a BA from Syracuse University, and is an inactive Certified Public Accountant.
Why Achieve says it made the appointment
Achieve connects Halladay’s experience building a commercial-pharma organization, managing public-company finances and pursuing business development with its plans for cytisinicline. CEO Andrew D. Goldberg said Halladay had helped scale a commercial pharma organization and expand its portfolio through business development within its existing capital structure. Goldberg added that Halladay’s “combination of capital efficiency and operating experience” matched what the company needs as it moves toward potential commercialization.
Halladay said that launch discipline is established well before a medicine’s first prescription. He described his focus as building the financial and operating foundation to support Achieve’s plans “on schedule and on plan.”
What the appointment does—and does not—signal about cytisinicline
The CFO change signals that Achieve is preparing its financial and operating functions for the possibility of bringing cytisinicline to market. It does not mean the drug has been approved or is available. Achieve describes cytisinicline as under development, and its announcement cautions that regulatory approval and timing are uncertain.
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