PolyMedix Organizes Infectious Disease Clinical Advisory Board
RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 8, 2010 - PolyMedix, Inc. (OTC BB: PYMX), an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has expanded its advisory relationships through the organization of an Infectious Disease Clinical Advisory Board (CAB). PolyMedix will engage the CAB members to actively collaborate on the clinical development of its novel defensin-mimetic antibiotic, PMX-30063 and other antimicrobial compounds. Members of the CAB are distinguished scientists and clinicians that will provide guidance to PolyMedix in their respective areas of expertise.
"We are committed to broadening our antibiotic expertise and working with leaders in the infectious disease field," commented Nicholas Landekic, President and CEO of PolyMedix. "We are honored that these influential thought leaders have agreed to join our Clinical Advisory Board. Their scientific and clinical knowledge will be instrumental in guiding the future clinical development of PMX-30063, as well as our other antimicrobial compounds."
The Infectious Disease Clinical Advisory Board includes:
Roger M. Echols, M.D.: Dr. Echols, CAB Chairman, has over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry expertise in drug development, from licensing through drug approval, specifically in the area of infectious disease, including anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal treatments. Dr. Echols was most recently the Chief Medical Officer of Replidyne. Prior to Replidyne, he was Vice President of Infectious Disease Clinical Research at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Director of Anti-infective Clinical Research at Bayer. As an academic clinical investigator, he conducted dozens of pharmaceutical sponsored or independent clinical trials involving antibiotics and biologics.
Helen W. Boucher, M.D., F.A.C.P.: Director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program and Staff Physician in the Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Boucher is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases. Dr. Boucher's clinical interests include infections in immunocompromised patients with an emphasis on transplant-related bacterial and fungal infections and human immunodeficiency virus as well as S. aureus infections. Her research interests focus on S. aureus and the development of new anti-infective agents.
John Bradley, M.D.: Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, and the Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rady Children's Hospital. Dr. Bradley's research spans the development of antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents, with phase I, II and III clinical studies, as well as modeling drug exposure and outcomes through computer simulation. He is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Task Force on Antimicrobial Drug Availability, working with the FDA and industry to create and explore new clinical trial designs for anti-infective agent evaluation.
G. Ralph Corey, M.D.: Gary Hock Professor of Global Health, Director of Infectious Diseases Research at Duke Clinical Research Institute and Co-Director of the Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global health at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Corey's research for the past 10 years has focused on large clinical trials involving skin and skin structure infections, hospital acquired pneumonia, post-surgical infections and blood stream infections. Dr. Corey's primary areas of interest include S. aureus infections and infective endocarditis.
Stanley Deresinski, M.D., F.A.C.P.: Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and Associate Chief of Infectious Diseases at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Dr. Deresinski maintains a private practice in infectious disease, HIV, and travel medicine and is Hospital Epidemiologist at Sequoia Hospital. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America. Dr. Deresinski is currently a member of the Guidelines Committee of the Infectious Disease Society of America. He has previously been active in clinical and laboratory research in the areas of fungal and mycobacterial infections and participated in approximately 100 clinical trials, a number of which he designed and initiated.
Alasdair MacGowan, M.D., F.R.C.P.: Professor of Clinical Microbiology & Antimicrobial Therapeutics at the University of Bristol, and Consultant Medical Microbiologist and Head of Research & Specialist Services in the Department of Medical Microbiology at North Bristol NHS Trust. Professor MacGowan's main research interests are in antibiotic resistance epidemiology in the community, and antibacterial pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics.
Brad Spellberg, M.D.: Associate Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute. Dr. Spellberg's research focuses on using the immune system to prevent and/or treat infections. He is currently working on the immunology and vaccinology of highly resistant Acinetobacter infections. Dr. Spellberg has worked with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) to attempt to bring attention to the problems of increasing drug resistance and decreasing new antibiotics.
About PolyMedix, Inc.
PolyMedix is a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the development of novel drugs for the treatment of serious infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders. PolyMedix uses a rational drug design approach to create non-peptide small molecule drug candidates. PolyMedix's lead antibiotic compound, PMX-30063, is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials. PMX-30063 is a small molecule that mimics the mechanism of action of human host defense proteins, a mechanism that is distinct from currently approved antibiotic drugs and is intended to make bacterial resistance unlikely to develop. PolyMedix plans to develop this compound for serious systemic Staphylococcal infections, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). PolyMedix's lead heptagonist compound, PMX-60056, has completed Phase 1 testing and is being developed to reverse the anticoagulant activity of both heparin and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH). PolyMedix believes that PMX-60056 could potentially be a safer and easier to use anticoagulant reversing agent, with broader activity, than the currently approved therapy for reversing heparin and LMWH. In addition to its small molecule therapeutics, PolyMedix has polymeric formulations with the same mechanism of action as PMX-30063, PolyCidesTM, which are intended for use in antimicrobial biomaterials applications s additives to paints, plastics, and textiles to create self-sterilizing products and surfaces. For more information, please visit our website at www.polymedix.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause PolyMedix's actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward looking statements. PolyMedix has in some cases identified forward-looking statements by using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "hopes," "estimates," "looks," "expects," "plans," "intends," "goal," "potential," "may," "suggest," and similar expressions. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, PolyMedix's compounds may not successfully complete clinical testing, or be granted regulatory approval to be sold and marketed in the United States or elsewhere. A more complete description of these risk factors is included in PolyMedix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. PolyMedix undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
Contact: PolyMedix, Inc.
Lisa Caperelli, 484-598-2406
Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
[email protected]