IRX Therapeutics Appoints Neil L. Berinstein Chief Scientific Officer
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IRX Therapeutics, a discoverer and developer of proprietary therapies for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases, today announced at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco that Neil L. Berinstein, M.D. has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer. He succeeds John W. Hadden, M.D., Founder, who remains a Director of the Company.
"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Berinstein to our management team"
.Dr. Berinstein, a global pioneer in cancer vaccines, has worked with IRX as a consultant. Prior to joining IRX, Dr. Berinstein served as Assistant Vice President and Global Program Leader at sanofi pasteur where he was in charge of leading the development of sanofi's cancer vaccines both strategically and operationally. Dr. Berinstein was responsible for interacting with international collaborators and leading researchers who were collaborating with sanofi pasteur either at pre-clinical or clinical levels. He saw to completion several multi-center phase I and phase II studies in Canada and the U.S. in colorectal and melanoma projects.
"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Berinstein to our management team," said John W. Hadden, II, President & Chief Executive Officer. "Dr. Berinstein's experience in cancer vaccines and drug development will be invaluable as we accelerate the development of our novel active immunotherapies. He has been a leading advocate for the development of novel strategies to increase the effectiveness of cancer vaccines and has underscored the need to address and reverse the immunosuppressive pathways to achieve that objective."
About Dr. Berinstein
Dr. Berinstein currently holds multiple academic and professional positions, including Professor in the department of medicine, University of Toronto, and Active staff at the Odette Cancer Center of the Sunnybrook Health Science Center. He was the vice-president of the Cancer Vaccine Consortium sponsored by the Sabin Institute and more recently is part of the executive steering committee of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI)-sponsored Cancer Vaccine Consortium. He was formerly a member and leader of the scientific review committee of the Leukemia Research Fund.
Dr. Berinstein is the recipient of numerous grants in his research career and has published 6 book chapters, and over 100 peer-reviewed, invited or review papers to date. He received his pre-medical degree and Medical Doctorate from University of Manitoba and further specialty and research training at the University of Toronto and Stanford University.
About Dr. Hadden
John W. Hadden, MD, is the Founder of IRX Therapeutics and has served as a Director since its inception. Dr. Hadden served as Chairman of the Board from September 1998 to April 2005. He subsequently served as Chief Scientific Officer from 2005. Dr. Hadden's past appointments include Director of the Division of Immunopharmacology at the University of South Florida Medical College from 1982 to 2000, and Founder and Director of the Laboratory of Immunopharmacology of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer from 1972 to 1982. Dr. Hadden is a world leader in the field of immunopharmacology, is widely published and cited, and is Board-Certified in Allergy & Immunology. He earned his MD from Columbia University, and BA in Psychology from Yale University.
About IRX Therapeutics
IRX Therapeutics is a privately-held company dedicated to the discovery and development of proprietary therapies for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases. The Company was founded by John W. Hadden, M.D., a pioneer in the field of Immunopharmacology.
The Company's product platform under development, which is based on Dr. Hadden's research, seeks to restore an effective cellular immune response for the treatment of advanced cancers and viral diseases by correcting both dendritic cell and T cell defects.
The Company's lead product candidate, IRX-2, received Fast Track designation by the Food and Drug Administration. A Phase 2 clinical trial in late-stage head and neck cancer patients has been completed. The Company is now preparing to launch a pivotal global Phase 3 clinical trial for IRX-2, named the INSPIRE trial.
For more information on IRX Therapeutics, please visit the Company's website at http://www.irxtherapeutics.com.