Eleven Biotherapeutics Appoints Eric Furfine, Ph.D., to President of Research and Development

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Eleven Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on translating breakthrough discoveries from science and medicine to engineer and develop innovative protein-based therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Eric Furfine, Ph.D., as president of research and development. Dr. Furfine replaces Burt Adelman, M.D., who has served as the company’s interim president of research and development since its founding. Dr. Adelman will continue to serve as a scientific advisor to the company.

“Eric is an exceptional addition to the Eleven Biotherapeutics team, and we believe his expertise in both biologics and small molecule drug discovery and development will be invaluable as we continue to advance our pipeline of innovative protein therapeutics,” said Mark Levin, interim chief executive officer and board member of Eleven Biotherapeutics, and partner, Third Rock Ventures. “With his proven track record at global pharmaceutical companies and large and startup biotech companies, Eric brings strong organizational leadership skills combined with a unique ‘drug hunter’ savvy that should greatly enhance our efforts to create the next generation of protein-based medicines to treat important diseases with unmet needs.”

With more than 20 years of experience in drug research and development, Dr. Furfine has been involved in advancing numerous products into clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Eleven Biotherapeutics, Dr. Furfine was senior vice president of research and preclinical development at Adnexus, a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, where he directed and led all activities in the discovery, preclinical development and clinical pharmacology of Adnectins, which are novel targeted protein therapeutic agents. Previously, he was vice president of preclinical development at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and also spent more than a decade in senior level research positions at GlaxoSmithKline, where he was program leader and co-inventor of LEXIVA® (fosamprenavir calcium). Dr. Furfine conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis University.

“I am honored to be joining such a distinguished team at Eleven Biotherapeutics,” said Dr. Furfine. “I believe the company’s unique understanding of biologic drug development holds the promise to lead to true breakthroughs in structure-based protein drug design and development across a wide spectrum of therapeutic areas. In this new role, I am very much looking forward to leading Eleven’s efforts as we continue to advance multiple drug candidates through preclinical development.”

About Eleven Biotherapeutics

Eleven Biotherapeutics is focused on translating breakthrough discoveries from science and medicine to engineer and develop innovative protein-based therapeutics to improve human health and treat disease. Eleven Biotherapeutics’ scientists are engineering protein-based drugs using newly available structural information and the company’s unique molecular understanding of clinical effects to create the next generation of protein-based medicines to treat important diseases with unmet needs, such as inflammatory conditions and coagulation disorders. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company is backed by top-tier life science investors Flagship Ventures and Third Rock Ventures. For more information, please visit www.elevenbio.com.



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INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Health  Biotechnology  Pharmaceutical  Other Science  Science

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