Healthcare Industry News: Lipoxygenase
News Release - October 1, 2007
Amira Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Chief Business Officer
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Amira Pharmaceuticals, a small molecule pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of compounds to treat inflammatory disease linked to the eicosanoid pathway, today announced the appointment of Hari Kumar, Ph.D, as the company's chief business officer, effective immediately.Kumar possesses extensive pharmaceutical industry experience including research, marketing and business development. He began his career at Roche, eventually progressing to Group Franchise Manager for the Transplant business.
Kumar then accepted an assignment to help the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Ltd. establish commercial operations in Europe. While at Eisai, Kumar participated in the launch of Aricept® in Europe. Eventually, he returned to Roche, where he most recently served in a business development role.
"In addition to his broad industry experience, Hari brings a successful track record of deal-making that will be critical in helping Amira achieve its financial and commercial goals," said Bob Baltera, CEO of Amira. "Hari will split his time between San Diego and San Francisco, and we believe this will enhance Amira's share of voice in the deal-making arena."
"I am truly excited about the prospect of working with the world class group at Amira," said Kumar. "The company encapsulates all that is excellent at a large pharma organization, with the ultra efficiency of a biotech. I look forward to joining Amira and working closely with partners for creative, value-driven partnership opportunities."
As previously announced, Amira is currently in discussion with a number of potential partners for its oral, next generation inhibitor of 5-Lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP).
About Amira
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in San Diego, Amira Pharmaceuticals is a small molecule pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and early development of compounds to treat inflammatory disease linked to the eicosanoid pathway.
The company combines the rigor of a big pharmaceutical company with the ingenuity and energy of a small company, creating an environment for efficient and effective pre-clinical and clinical program decisions. Its scientific founders have successfully worked together for more than a decade and were pivotal in the discovery of a number of inflammatory drugs, including Singulair®. The drug hunters at Amira are now actively leveraging their history of success to create high-value compounds for the future. In January 2006, Amira signed a collaboration with Roche to establish a research alliance and an option for Amira to license two clinical-stage compounds from Roche. Amira has yet to exercise its option.
Amira has raised $40 million to date from investors including Novo A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), Avalon Ventures (San Diego, CA), Prospect Ventures (Palo Alto, CA) and Versant Ventures (Menlo Park, CA). For more information, visit http://www.amirapharm.com
Source: Amira Pharmaceuticals
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