|
||
| |||||||
|
|
Neurodegenerative disease
specialist names business development, drug development, medical and
regulatory heads
Marseille, February 27, 2006 -
Trophos SA, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and
development of drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today a series
of appointments that bring added strength to the company's management team.
The move comes as the company's drug products accelerate towards clinical,
licensing and partnering stages.
Stephen Harris, PhD, 46, joins Trophos as Chief Business Development Officer. Dr Harris's responsibilities include licensing and establishment of collaborative partnerships. Dr Harris joins Trophos after more than 16 years with Glaxo in various R&D management roles and most recently as a Director, Transactions within Worldwide Business Development at GSK. Dr Harris holds a BSc in Genetics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a PhD in Molecular Evolution from the University of Leicester, England.
New appointments in the Trophos
product development team include the arrival of Patrick Berna, PhD as Chief
Development Officer, and the appointment of Dr Jean-Louis Abitbol, MD as Chief
Medical Officer and Brigitte Chamayou-Anglade, Pharmacist as Chief of
Regulatory Affairs.
Dr Berna, 41, will be responsible
for drug development from drug candidate selection through to clinical proof
of concept at Trophos. This will encompass preclinical and clinical
developments through to Phase II. Dr Berna joins Trophos after successive
positions in project management covering drug development and discovery
activities within Boehringer-Ingleheim (2003-05), Jouveinal (1996-98), Parke-Davis
(1998-2000) and Pfizer (2000-03). Dr Berna holds a MSc in Cell Biology from
the University of Lille, France, and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University
of Compiegne, France.
Dr Abitbol, MD, 51, brings
substantial expertise in clinical research and drug development. Prior to
joining Trophos in October 2004, he was Director of Clinical Research for
Pierre Fabre Research Institute (France), and previously with
CERNEP-Synthélabo, Jouveinal, Parke-Davis and Pfizer (1987-2002). Dr Abitbol
holds an MD from the University Paris VII, France, and is a former resident of
the Paris University Hospitals. Before his new appointment, Jean-Louis was
Director of Clinical Research at Trophos.
Brigitte Chamayou-Anglade, 51,
joined Trophos in November 2004. Prior to this she was a Consultant in
Regulatory Affairs (since 2002); Director of Regulatory Affairs and "Pharmacien
Responsable" for Laboratoires Chauvin (from 1985) and for Laboratoires
Fournier (1980-1985). Brigitte holds a Pharmacist diploma from the University
of Montpellier.
"These new appointments are
designed to make the management team at Trophos even stronger at a time when
the number of our drug products progressing to the clinic, and the level of
licensing and partnering activity, are both set to increase in the next 12 -
18 months," said Antoine Béret, CEO at Trophos. "I am very pleased to welcome
both Stephen and Patrick to the company. Their arrival marks a further
milestone in the development of Trophos as a business. The progress of the
development pipeline is also recognized by the increased level of commitment
to Trophos of both Jean-Louis and Brigitte on their appointment to these new
positions within the company."
Béret added: "We are particularly
excited that TRO19622, the lead molecule discovered using our innovative
phenotypic screening platform, has successfully completed Phase I clinical
studies thereby allowing us to proceed rapidly into clinical trials of
efficacy in ALS patients. Trophos anticipates initiating a pivotal Phase
II/III clinical trial for the ALS indication in Q4 2006. Our understanding of
the mechanism of action of this class of molecules leads us to believe they
have tremendous potential for the treatment of other chronic neurological
disorders, including neuropathic pain and Alzheimer's disease."
About ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis):
ALS, more commonly known as
Lou Gehrig's disease in the USA, is a progressive and fatal neurological
disease that is estimated to affect approx. 100,000 people worldwide. There is
no cure for ALS. The only drug approved for ALS is riluzole, which has been
demonstrated to give some survival benefit to ALS patients. For more
information about ALS, see
www.alsa.org.
About Trophos:
www.trophos.com
Trophos is a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases. These are severely debilitating, often fatal, disorders with few effective drugs and tremendous unmet medical needs. Trophos has pioneered an innovative phenotypic screening platform which has enabled it to develop a proprietary portfolio of products in preclinical and clinical phases of development. In preclinical studies, compounds in the same class as TRO19622 have been shown to prevent the neuronal degeneration that is involved in the progression of these types of neurological disorders. The company is focusing its efforts on four therapeutic domains: the motoneuron diseases (ALS & SMA), Huntington's disease, neuropathic pain and Alzheimer's disease.
Trophos was founded in 1999 and
has raised a total of EUR 30M. This includes EUR 18.3M in equity (2 rounds of
approximately EUR 6M) and convertible bonds. Current investors include SGAM,
Turenne Capital Partners, Innoveris, SOFIPACA and SOFIMAC. The company has
also received EUR 9.4M in the form of research grants from patient
associations such as the AFM (Association Française contre les Myopathies) and
the HighQ Foundation (USA), and EUR 1.8 M from the French Aide à l'Innovation
(ANVAR). Trophos collaborates actively with patient associations who
contribute important scientific and clinical expertise related to
neurodegenerative diseases, as well as research funding. The company is based
in Marseille, France and currently has 37 employees.
For more information please
contact:
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
Andrew Lloyd / Heidi Thompson
Tel: +44 1273 675100
|
|
| ||||||||