Healthcare Industry News: hepatitis C
News Release - January 10, 2008
Idera Pharmaceuticals Announces Management Promotions
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Idera Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IDRA ) today announced the promotion of Steven J. Ritter, Ph.D., J.D., to Vice President of Intellectual Property and Contracts, and the promotion of Ekambar R. Kandimalla, Ph.D., to Vice President of Discovery.“Over the last two years Steve has played a pivotal role in advancing Idera’s intellectual property initiatives and building a portfolio to include more than 500 issued and pending patent applications covering our TLR-targeted compounds and antisense technology,” said Sudhir Agrawal, D.Phil., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. “We look forward to him continuing to strengthen the intellectual property position of our technology.”
Agrawal continued, “Ekambar has made fundamental scientific contributions in the development of Idera’s technology. He has served in various roles and has been an integral member of our discovery team. We look forward to his involvement in advancing Idera’s leading discovery programs for TLR-targeted therapies.”
Dr. Ritter joined the Company in January 2006 as Intellectual Property Counsel. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Ritter spent nine years assessing, patenting, licensing, and partnering a number of technologies created by academic institutions. From 1997 – 2005, Dr. Ritter served as the Associate Director of Technology Management at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H), and from 2005 – 2006 he was a Senior Licensing Associate with Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ritter has extensive experience in contracting, as well as preparing, prosecuting, and managing patents in many fields. Dr. Ritter earned a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Vermont in 1991, a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from The Pennsylvania State University in 1995, completed a PhRMA Foundation post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular Pharmacology at UTHSC-H in 1997, and earned a J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 2004.
Dr. Kandimalla joined the Company as a Senior Research Scientist in 1992 with extensive experience in chemistry and biochemistry of nucleic acids. From 1993-1999, Dr. Kandimalla served as Senior Scientist, and from 1999-2004 he was Director of Functional Genomics. In 2004, he served as Senior Director of Research. Dr. Kandimalla received his M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Andhra University, India, and carried out postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science, and the University of Alberta prior to joining the Company. Dr. Kandimalla is a co-author of over 120 research publications and a co-inventor on 14 issued patents.
About Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Idera Pharmaceuticals is a drug discovery and development company that is developing drug candidates to treat cancer and infectious, respiratory, and autoimmune diseases, and for use as vaccine adjuvants. Our proprietary drug candidates are designed to modulate specific TLRs, which are a family of immune system receptors present in immune system cells that direct the immune system to respond to potential disease threats. Our pioneering DNA chemistry expertise enables us to identify drug candidates for internal development and creates opportunities for multiple collaborative alliances. Our lead TLR9 agonist, IMO-2125, is currently in a Phase 1 trial for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection. We have also created novel DNA-based compounds that have been shown to act as antagonists to TLRs 7 and 9 in preclinical studies. Idera is collaborating with Novartis International Pharmaceutical, Ltd. for the discovery, development, and commercialization of TLR9 agonists for the treatment of asthma and allergy indications. Idera is also collaborating with Merck & Co., Inc. for the use of Idera’s TLR7, 8 and 9 agonists in combination with Merck & Co.’s therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines in the areas of oncology, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, Idera is collaborating with Merck KGaA for the research, development and commercialization of Idera’s most advanced clinical candidate, IMO-2055, as well as IMO-2125 and other TLR9 agonists for the treatment of cancer. Merck & Co. of the U.S. is not related to Merck KGaA of Germany. For more information, please visit www.iderapharma.com.
Idera Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "estimates," "intends," "should," "could," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Idera’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, whether products based on Idera’s technology will advance into or through the clinical trial process on a timely basis or at all and receive approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies; whether, if the Company’s products receive approval, they will be successfully distributed and marketed; whether the results of preclinical studies will be indicative of results that may be obtained in clinical trials; whether the Company’s collaborations with Novartis and Merck & Co., and Merck KGaA will be successful; whether Idera’s cash resources will be sufficient to fund the Company’s operations, including product development and clinical trials; and such other important factors as are set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Idera’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 13, 2007, which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. Idera disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Source: Idera Pharmaceuticals
Issuer of this News Release is solely responsible for its
content.
Please address inquiries directly to the issuing company.
