REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PaxVax, Inc., a specialty vaccine company focused on travel and biodefense, today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Nima Farzan Chief Executive Officer and President. In this role, he will assume overall responsibility for PaxVax, including management of all R&D, manufacturing and commercial operations globally. Kenneth Kelley, co-founder and former CEO, will continue to serve PaxVax as a Director on the Company's Board of Directors and as an Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow at Harvard University focused on related global health issues.
"As PaxVax continues on its trajectory of growth, the Board and I are confident that Nima is the right person to lead the company forward," said Mr. Kelley. "Nima is a talented commercial leader and strategist who has been instrumental in building PaxVax into a fully integrated vaccine company. Under his leadership, PaxVax has built a product portfolio, manufacturing capacity, and commercial infrastructure that is capable of supplying our specialty vaccines globally."
Founded in 2007, PaxVax is focused on acquiring and developing effective, safe, affordable and easy-to-administer vaccines for two specialty business strategies in travel and biodefense. PaxVax acquired the FDA-approved typhoid vaccine Vivotif® from Crucell Switzerland AG in July 2014 and currently manufactures and markets it in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The company intends to submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. FDA for its lead single-dose oral cholera vaccine candidate (PXVX200) under the brand name Vaxchora® in the second half of 2015. Vaxchora successfully met its Phase 3 primary endpoints and recently demonstrated efficacy in an immunogenicity and clinical acceptability study of older adults. If licensed, Vaxchora would be the first and only single-dose vaccine in the U.S. against cholera, making it more convenient for travelers, particularly for those traveling on short notice.
"PaxVax has grown to become one of the largest U.S.-headquartered vaccine companies, and we are poised to accelerate our growth with a robust portfolio of late-stage vaccine candidates for the compelling yet overlooked markets of travel and biodefense," said Mr. Farzan. "Ken's vision for a company that has both a social and commercial mission has been an important catalyst in our success to date. I am honored to have been chosen by the Board to lead PaxVax and I look forward to working with our executive team and our employees to build the world's leading specialty vaccine company."
Mr. Farzan previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer. He joined PaxVax in September 2011 from Novartis AG, where he spent more than seven years in positions of increasing responsibility in pharmaceutical marketing, sales and development in both U.S. and global positions. Most recently, he was Vice President of Marketing for Novartis Vaccines USA, where he was responsible for marketing, market access, pricing and key account sales, and also helped launch multiple new vaccines. Prior to Novartis, Mr. Farzan worked in marketing and business development at DoubleTwist, Inc., a pioneering genomics company. Before that, he was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Farzan received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in Human Biology from Stanford University.
About PaxVax
Founded in 2007, PaxVax is a fully integrated specialty vaccine company with a mission to protect people from infectious diseases. The company seeks financial returns through two specialty business strategies in travel and biodefense vaccines as well as social returns by providing access to its vaccines globally and by developing vaccines addressing some of the world's most lethal infectious diseases. The PaxVax portfolio includes a licensed vaccine for typhoid (Vivotif®), vaccines in clinical development for cholera, anthrax, HIV, and H5N1 (pandemic bird flu) and in research for malaria, dengue, rabies and Herpes Simplex Virus. PaxVax is headquartered in Redwood City, California and maintains research and development and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities in San Diego, California, USA, and its newly acquired facility near Bern, Switzerland. More information is available at www.PaxVax.com.
Contacts
for PaxVax, Inc.
Colin Sanford, 415-870-9188
[email protected]