SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tocagen Inc., a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company, today announced that John Wood has been named vice president of regulatory affairs and quality assurance. Mr. Wood holds more than 20 years of regulatory affairs experience focusing on first-in-class drugs for diseases with high unmet need. While at IDEC Pharmaceuticals he played a leading role, in close collaboration with Genentech, in the first regulatory approval of RITUXAN® for the treatment of immune system B-cell malignancies.
"John holds extensive experience in regulatory affairs activities, including overseeing drug approvals by the FDA and international regulatory agencies," said Harry Gruber, M.D., chief executive officer of Tocagen. "As Tocagen continues to enroll patients in Toca 5, our Phase 2/3 clinical trial in patients with recurrent high grade glioma, John's expertise and insights will be extremely beneficial."
Prior to joining Tocagen, Mr. Wood led regulatory affairs at Arena Pharmaceuticals, where he played an integral role interfacing with Eisai Inc. regarding regulatory strategy for life cycle management for BELVIQ®. Previous to this role Mr. Wood led regulatory affairs and alliance management at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he directed activities surrounding the first regulatory approvals of SYMLIN® and BYETTA® in the United States, served as program leader for BYETTA and acted as the primary interface with Eli Lilly. Prior to his position at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Wood held regulatory leadership positions at Quintiles Consulting and Gensia, Inc.
Mr. Wood holds a bachelor's degree in biology from University of California, San Diego and is Regulatory Affairs Certified by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS).
About Tocagen
Tocagen is a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy company focused on developing first-in-class, broadly applicable product candidates designed to activate a patient's immune system against their own cancer from within. The company is developing its lead investigational product candidate, Toca 511 & Toca FC, initially for the treatment of recurrent high grade glioma (HGG), a disease with significant unmet medical need. Tocagen has initiated the Phase 2 portion of a randomized, controlled Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with recurrent HGG, which is designed to serve as a potential registrational trial. More information about the clinical trial can be found at www.tocagen.com/toca5. In 2016, Tocagen plans to initiate clinical trials of Toca 511 & Toca FC in patients with newly diagnosed HGG and other solid tumors. Tocagen obtained Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for Toca 511 & Toca FC for the treatment of recurrent HGG and Orphan drug designation for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), a subset of HGG. For more information visit www.tocagen.com or follow @Tocagen.
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SOURCE Tocagen Inc.