Spirogen expands both Leadership and Management Team
J. Barrie Ward accepts role as Chairman of the Board of Directors
Christopher J Pugh accepts role as Chief Business Officer
London, UK, 2006 - Spirogen Ltd announced the appointments of J. Barrie Ward as a Chairman of the Board of Directors and Christopher J Pugh as Chief Business Officer.
Dr Ward brings a tremendous wealth of leadership skills and experiences to Spirogen Ltd. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc. and Onyvax Ltd. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Virus Research Institute, Inc. Earlier in his career, Dr Ward worked in research for Glaxo Ltd., where he became Director of the Microbiology Division of Glaxo Research and Development Ltd.
Mr. Pugh brings a wealth of commercial and business development skills and experiences. Previously he served as Vice President, Business Development at Genitrix LLC. which develops innovative immunotherapeutic products. While at Genitrix he developed a number of key agreements with top tier Multinational Pharmaceutical companies. Prior to that he served as Vice President of Business Development for Bioject Inc.,. While at Bioject he negotiated a number of external agreements, including one that offered the largest potential payout in that company's 18-year history. Prior to that, he was Director of Business Development at Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., which developed and marketed small molecule therapeutics for cancer and other serious conditions. Mr. Pugh began his career working for Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.
Dr Chris Martin, CEO of Spirogen, said, "We are delighted that both Barrie and Chris have chosen to join us. As we move to our next phase, expanding our development and commercial efforts, their experiences will help us considerably".
About Spirogen (www.spirogen.com)
Spirogen is a clinical stage biotechnology company specialising in the development of DNA targeted therapies for major diseases. The company was founded in 2000, has 28 employees and is venture capital funded.
Spirogen's lead oncology drug candidate, SG 2000 (SJG-136), is currently being evaluated in 4 Phase 1 Studies in Europe and USA.
In addition, the company has a diverse portfolio of 5 further products which are in preclinical development and are patented extensively.
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Spirogen Ltd. is a pharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of a unique class of low molecular weight, sequence-selective, DNA-interactive drugs designed to treat gene-mediated diseases. Spirogen has an extensive patent portfolio, including a number of granted patents, relating to its core technology. A number of the cases cover active PBD compounds, and their uses in medicine. The company was founded in March 2000. Spirogen has 10 employees split between laboratory and office facilities at new custom designed facilities at The School of Pharmacy (University of London) and the Cancer Institute (University College London).
www.spirogen.com
Leading in DNA Targeted Therapeutics