Healthcare Industry News: ALZA
News Release - June 6, 2007
Osprey Pharmaceuticals Limited Appoints Former PDL BioPharma Executive Barbara K. Finck, M.D. as Chief Medial Officer and Senior Vice President
MONTREAL, June 6 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Osprey Pharmaceuticals Limited, a privately held biotechnology company focused on treating chronic diseases through a family of first-in-class therapeutic proteins, has named veteran pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry executive Barbara K. Finck, M.D. as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Finck will be responsible for advancing Osprey's preclinical candidates through clinical development, including moving the company's lead therapeutic candidate towards a clinical trial for kidney disease later this year."We are thrilled to have someone of Barbara's caliber and experience join Osprey's management team," CEO Phil Coggins said. "Barbara's clinical expertise in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and her proven track record bringing drugs to market - including the blockbuster drug Enbrel® - will serve Osprey well as we move our rich pipeline of product candidates forward. With the recent additions of Dr. Finck, and Jack Anthony as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, we now have all the people and resources in place to continue our transition to a clinical-stage drug development company and execute on our goal of initiating three clinical trials over the next three years."
Dr. Finck comes to Osprey from PDL BioPharma, Inc., where she served as Vice President, Clinical Development and was responsible for the medical and clinical operations for eight therapeutic candidates in the areas of autoimmune diseases, oncology and cardiology. Previously, she held the position of Vice President, Clinical Development at Eos Biotechnology, Inc. from 2001 until PDL BioPharma purchased the company in April 2003.
As Medical Director at Immunex Corp. for five years, Dr. Finck was responsible for clinical development of Enbrel® for rheumatoid arthritis in adults and children. Dr. Finck also served as the Clinical Program Manager and Medical Monitor at ALZA Corp and as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Finck earned her bachelor's degree in Physiological Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.D. from UCSF and is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology.
"I am very pleased to join Osprey Pharmaceuticals and to help set and oversee the clinical direction of compounds that are ready now to go into patients," Dr. Finck said. "The Osprey platform of chemokine-based fusion proteins provides a novel approach for the treatment of a wide variety of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory conditions, and I feel fortunate to be part of a company with so many clinical development opportunities in areas of great unmet medical need."
About Osprey Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Osprey Pharmaceuticals Limited is a privately held biotechnology company focused on commercializing a unique family of therapeutic proteins capable of treating chronic diseases. Osprey's broad technology platform is based on the critical insight that many common diseases are propagated by overabundant and overactive leukocytes. The company's patented Leukocyte Population Modulators (LPMs) selectively and systematically destroy these disease-related leukocytes by infiltrating the chemokine system - a complex network of small proteins and their receptors that regulate the movement and activity of leukocytes. The company is moving its lead compound towards a Phase I/II trial for kidney disease later this year.
Osprey has developed a portfolio of 12 preclinical LPM product candidates addressing a variety of diseases including inflammatory and immunological disorders, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, and the company anticipates initiating at least one clinical trial annually over the next three years. Osprey minimizes the risks inherent to drug development and commercialization by using a technology that can rapidly generate new product candidates, and then uniformly applying standardized testing and manufacturing protocols across its portfolio. Osprey Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Montreal, Canada; Dr. Finck and Mr. Anthony are based in the company's San Francisco, California office. More company information can be found online at www.ospreypharma.com.
Source: Osprey Pharmaceuticals
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