Orphan Drug Accelerator Cydan Expands Transactional Expertise with Appointment of Vered Bisker-Leib, Ph.D., MBA, as Chief Business Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cydan Development, Inc., an orphan drug accelerator that identifies and de-risks programs with significant therapeutic and commercial potential, today announced the appointment of Vered Bisker-Leib, Ph.D., MBA, as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Bisker-Leib brings a proven track record of identifying, evaluating and executing business development activities in top-tier companies, with expertise in licensing as well as mergers and acquisitions. She will oversee the execution of Cydan's strategy to found and build orphan drug companies. She began her employment with Cydan effective October 1, 2014, and will serve as a member of the executive team, reporting directly to the company's founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Adams, Ph.D., MBA.

"Vered's strong transactional business development and strategy experience along with her scientific training make her a great addition to our team," said Dr. Adams. "Her expertise, drive, and passion for the needs facing the rare disease community will help Cydan execute its business model effectively."

"Cydan's unique business model allows the company to work with researchers, patient foundations and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to find the most innovative projects to help people with rare diseases," said Vered Bisker-Leib. "I'm looking forward to bringing these groups together to address the high unmet needs within many orphan diseases."

Prior to joining Cydan, Dr. Bisker-Leib worked in an advisory role with biotechnology companies and non-profit organizations. She has held multiple positions of increasing responsibility across five therapeutic areas within Bristol-Myers Squibb's Strategic Transactions Group. Most recently, she served as Executive Director and Global Head, Business Development for the Cardiovascular and Metabolic franchises. She was responsible for crafting the business development strategy and ensuring its execution, including the acquisitions of ZymoGenetics, Amira Pharmaceuticals and Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

In addition, Dr. Bisker-Leib held business development roles at Avalon Pharmaceuticals and MedImmune. She began her professional career as a scientist for Baxter International Inc. She received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Israel Institute of Technology. As an Israeli native, Dr. Bisker-Leib served in the Israeli Defense Forces, where she advanced to the rank of First Lieutenant.

About Rare Diseases

An orphan or rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 patients – or about 1 in 1,500 – in the U.S. Other countries including the EU and Japan have defined rare diseases as those affecting similar portions of their populations.

There are nearly 7,000 recognized rare diseases affecting nearly 30 million Americans and an estimated 350 million people worldwide, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD, Eurordis and Global Genes). Most of these rare diseases are genetic and may appear early in life – 75 percent of rare diseases affect children and 30 percent of rare disease patients will not live to the age of five. The vast majority of rare and orphan diseases have no approved treatment options, and there is a critical need for new therapies.

About Cydan Development, Inc.

Cydan is an orphan drug accelerator that identifies and de-risks orphan drug products with significant therapeutic and commercial potential. The accelerator's business model evaluates products for treating rare diseases with high unmet medical need and its goal is to start 3-5 companies to develop such therapies. Cydan was launched in 2013 by a management team with extensive drug discovery, clinical development and business development experience financed by leading life sciences investors NEA, Pfizer Venture Investments, Lundbeckfond Ventures Bay City Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments. The accelerator is based in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, please visit www.cydanco.com or contact Cydan at [email protected]

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