Healthcare Industry News: Angiotech Pharmaceuticals
News Release - May 23, 2006
Clera Announces Senior Management Appointments
VANCOUVER, British Columbia & MONTEREY, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--May 23, 2006--Today Clera Inc. announced the appointment of Jeanne M. Bertonis as President and Chief Operating Officer and Jeffrey A. Bacha as Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Financial Officer. Bertonis and Bacha will join the company officially in these roles in July 2006.Clera Inc. was founded in 2001 to commercialize discoveries by Dr. Philip Seeman. Dr. Seeman discovered the D2 receptor in the mid-1970s as the principal target for all antipsychotic drugs. Combined world-wide sales of antipsychotic drugs currently exceed US$14 billion annually.
Clera is capitalizing on over 40 years of Dr. Seeman's receptor-based drug discovery research. The Company has designed a portfolio of promising small molecule drug candidates targeting a range of central nervous system (CNS) indications, including schizophrenia, L-Dopa psychosis, depression and Parkinson's. CLR151 has recently been confirmed as Clera's first pre-clinical drug candidate, for the treatment of schizophrenia.
"Jeanne and Jeff have been supporting our recent efforts to advance Clera's lead molecule against schizophrenia. With the company's recent achievements, it is the right time to begin solidifying Clera's management team with experienced industry executives," said Mr. Bob Seeman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Clera. "I am very pleased that these two highly accomplished individuals are joining our company. They are tremendous people who have the background to help lead Clera's growth and the advancement of our CNS pipeline."
Mr. Seeman also noted that Clera expects to add additional drug development expertise to its team in the near future. He will be presenting the Clera story at the 8th Annual C21 BioVentures Life Sciences Private Equity Conference on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 2 p.m.
CLR151
Clera has selected CLR151 from a portfolio of novel small-molecule drug candidates that have optimized "fast-off" affinity for D2 receptors and low affinity for other receptors, thereby reducing the risk of side effects. Clera believes that the unique biological activity of CLR151 may provide improvement in the treatment of schizophrenia while avoiding side effects attributable to current therapies.
CLR151 is an orally bioavailable small molecule. The Company has completed substantial preclinical research demonstrating that CLR151 has a highly competitive therapeutic and safety profile both in vitro and in vivo. CLR151 has demonstrated efficacy and enhanced cognitive action in multiple models of schizophrenia and psychosis in vivo.
Background
Jeanne M. Bertonis, B.A., M.Sc., M.B.A. - A member of Clera's Board of Directors since September 2005, Ms. Bertonis adds to the company her in-depth and hands-on experience building and managing corporate functions and business alliances. Her experience has ranged from early stage startup through to successful commercialization of products in, and acquisitions of, publicly-traded companies. From 2000 to 2006 she held the position of Chief Business Officer for Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., and in that role she oversaw all of the business and corporate development functions, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic collaborations and marketing. Prior to joining Angiotech, Ms. Bertonis served as Senior Director, Corporate Development at Genzyme Corporation, and managed the Business Development group for Guidant Corporation's Vascular Intervention Division. She has additional experience in business and research positions from other large pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly & Company and Biogen, Inc. Ms. Bertonis holds a Master of Management Degree from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Northwestern University, a Master of Science Degree in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Vassar College.
Jeffrey A. Bacha, B.Sc., M.B.A. - Mr. Bacha has over fifteen years of experience working within the life sciences industry, specifically in the areas of operations, strategy and finance. During his career, he has assisted biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies to develop and implement a wide range of business and financing strategies. Mr. Bacha is a founding Director of Urigen Holdings Inc. From 2001 - 2005, Mr. Bacha served as President and Founding Chief Executive Officer of Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines based on the selective augmentation of host innate immunity. Mr. Bacha led the company through its start-up phase to pre-clinical lead selection. He recruited the management and scientific research teams, completed key strategic partnerships and venture capital financing which position the company to enter human clinical trials with a potential new medicine during 2007. Prior to joining Inimex, Mr. Bacha served as Vice President, Corporate Development of Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and as Senior Manager and Director of KPMG Health Ventures. Mr. Bacha holds a B.Sc. in Biophysics from the University of California and an M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
About Clera
Clera Inc. is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of major central nervous system disorders. The company's lead molecule, CLR151, has recently been confirmed as Clera's first pre-clinical drug candidate, for the treatment of schizophrenia.
Certain statements in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Source: Clera Inc
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