Exagen Appoints Debra Jeske Zack, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer, and Anja Kammesheidt, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Off...
March 24 2020 - 7:25AM
Exagen Inc. (Nasdaq: XGN), an organization dedicated to
transforming the care continuum for patients suffering from
autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Debra Jeske
Zack, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and Anja
Kammesheidt, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The
addition of Drs. Zack and Kammesheidt to the Exagen team will
strengthen the company as it continues to focus on clinical
research and development initiatives to serve the needs of
healthcare providers and their patients.
“Our focus has always been on improving outcomes for patients
suffering from autoimmune diseases, which are very challenging to
diagnose and treat. Both of these appointments bring in-depth
experience and a singular understanding of autoimmune diseases,
including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis,” said Exagen President
and CEO Ron Rocca. “As the company enters its next phase of growth,
we are proud to have our senior leadership team fully aligned and
committed to our mission of providing superior solutions to
autoimmune healthcare providers and patients. Exagen is
well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our existing AVISE
tests while developing a pipeline of new testing products within
the overlooked autoimmune space.”
Dr. Zack is a board-certified rheumatologist with broad
experience as a strategic biopharmaceutical executive in the
development of therapeutics for autoimmune disease and will oversee
the overall strategy and execution of the company’s clinical
development plans. She has extensive experience leading
research, clinical development and medical affairs teams focusing
on autoimmune disorders, highlighted by her role at Amgen as Global
Development Lead for Enbrel, one of the best-selling
pharmaceuticals in the world. Prior to joining Exagen, Dr. Zack
served as Vice President, Clinical Development at Xencor, Inc.;
Executive Director, Medical Scientific Leader, Biotherapeutics
Development Unit at Novartis; and various positions in basic
research, clinical development and medical affairs at Amgen.
She was an associate professor treating rheumatology patients
for 10 years at UCLA prior to joining industry. She received her
undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University and her M.D.
and Ph.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas
before completing her residency and rheumatology fellowship at the
UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Zack replaces Dr. Arthur
Weinstein, who is leaving the CMO position to focus his attentions
as the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Kammesheidt has deep experience as a strategic biotech
executive in the development of novel testing solutions and will be
responsible for the oversight and execution of the company’s
research and development plans. Dr. Kammesheidt will also
represent Exagen as the scientific leader with external
collaborators, scientific advisory boards, key scientific meetings
and investment community activities. Over the course of her
career, she has built multiple successful diagnostics companies
with direct responsibility for all R&D activities. This
expertise, which includes biomarker discovery, will be invaluable
in her new role. Prior to joining Exagen, Dr. Kammesheidt
served as Chief Scientific Officer at Ambry Genetics and Pathway
Genomics, and also held R&D positions at Agendia Inc. and
Purdue Pharma. She received her undergraduate degree and
Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, and conducted her
post-doctoral training at the University of California, San
Diego. Dr. Kammesheidt replaces Dr. Thierry Dervieux, who has
been serving as a consultant to Exagen since his resignation from
the company in Q4 2019 to pursue other opportunities.
About Exagen Inc.
Exagen is dedicated to transforming the care continuum for
patients suffering from debilitating and chronic autoimmune
diseases by enabling timely differential diagnosis and optimizing
therapeutic intervention. Exagen has developed and is
commercializing a portfolio of innovative testing products under
its AVISE® brand, several of which are based on its proprietary
Cell-Bound Complement Activation Products, or CB-CAPs, technology.
Exagen’s goal is to enable rheumatologists to improve care
for patients through the differential diagnosis, prognosis and
monitoring of complex autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases,
including SLE and rheumatoid arthritis.
Forward Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release
are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Exagen, they are
forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and
expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor of the
Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking
statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could
cause Exagen's future results, performance or achievements to
differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward
looking statements. Exagen undertakes no obligation to update or
revise any forward looking statements. For a description of the
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
from those expressed in these forward looking statements, as well
as risks relating to Exagen's business in general, please refer to
Exagen’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2019 and any subsequent filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
CONTACTS:
Investors
Westwicke Partners Mike Cavanaugh Mike.Cavanaugh@westwicke.com
646.677.1838
Company Contact
Exagen Inc. Kamal Adawi, Chief Financial Officer
KAdawi@exagen.com 760.477.5514
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