Vancouver, British Columbia – October 27, 2014 – Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM, FSE: ZSB) announces that it has named Mr. Attila Hajdu as Chief Business Development Officer. Prior to joining Sirona Biochem, Attila held various senior leadership positions within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Astellas Pharma, accumulating 17 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, R&D Finance, Medical Affairs and Business Development.
"Attila Hajdu is an accomplished leader in the global pharmaceutical industry with a passion for delivering innovative solutions to optimize health outcomes. He is a skilled communicator with a solid reputation of building trusting relationships with external partners. Moreover, he is known for not only reaching set targets but exceeding expectations and bringing projects to successful conclusion. The addition of Attila to our team provides the important knowledge and experience of big pharma sales, marketing and licensing, but equally important is his solid understanding of biochemistry and keen ability to recognize the value of early stage products," said Dr. Howard Verrico, CEO of Sirona Biochem.
"It is critical that we align ourselves with the needs of our potential partners and the market to reach the next level. Having a skilled leader in business development with a proven track record is imperative and we are very confident that Attila can meet the company's needs," he added.
About Attila Hajdu
As Business Development Medical Lead for GSK, Attila was responsible for leading projects which assessed in-depth drug opportunity/risk profiles taking into account reimbursement, commercial opportunity, competition, differentiation, as well as clinical and regulatory probabilities of success. He led cross functional teams in the valuation and presentation of potential revenue generating assets to GSK's worldwide business development team. Moreover, he was supporting GSK Canada's Business Development strategy to secure new revenue generating assets.
While working for the Canadian Medical Division of GSK, Attila acquired valuable experience in the biologic therapeutic area with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody Arzerra for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from concept to launch. This was accomplished by successfully engaging key stakeholders in the development of this asset through collaborative research, strategic communication, educational activities and intelligence gathering. He accomplished successful endorsement and funding of investigator driven clinical trials through leadership, influence, and negotiations with senior global executives that resulted in top tier medical journal publications and biotechnology spinoff opportunities for other compounds.
Attila played leading roles in facilitating business development opportunities, liaising with securities biotech research analysts and founding managers to explore partnership opportunities with targeted monoclonal antibody platform technologies. He scientifically engaged key external experts to deliver innovative cost effective scientific solutions, including the launch of Cervarix for cervical cancer prevention and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tykerb for metastatic Her 2+ breast cancer.
Attila received an MBA from Queen's University and an MSC in Biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario.
About Sirona Biochem
Sirona Biochem is a cosmetic ingredient and drug discovery company with a proprietary technology platform developed at its laboratory facility in France. The company specializes in the stabilization of carbohydrate molecules, with the goal of improving compounds' efficacy and safety. Sirona Biochem's compounds are patented as new chemical entities for maximum commercial protection and revenue potential. Newly developed compounds are licensed to leading companies around the world in return for licensing and milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. TFChem, Sirona Biochem's wholly-owned French laboratory is a recipient of multiple French national scientific awards and a European Union and French government grant. For more information visit www.sironabiochem.com.