ABINGDON, England, September 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Atopix Therapeutics Limited ("Atopix"), a UK biotechnology
company developing a novel class of medicines to treat atopic
dermatitis and severe asthma, today announces the appointment of Dr
Andrew Zambanini as Chief Medical
Officer.
Dr Zambanini joins Atopix as it advances the clinical
development of its lead CRTH2 antagonist, OC459, in multiple
indications in Th2-mediated disease.
Dr Andrew Zambanini has almost 25
years of experience in clinical medicine and the pharmaceutical
industry. He has worked with companies that span the spectrum
of the pharmaceutical industry from smaller start-up companies as
well as medium and large sized pharmaceutical companies including
GlaxoSmithKline, where from 2003 until 2010 he held a variety of
roles of increasing seniority up to Vice President level, Takeda
Global R&D, Novartis, Kyowa Hakko Kirin UK, ProStrakan, Gilead,
and Circassia.
A dually accredited Clinical Pharmacologist and Pharmaceutical
Physician, Andrew has strong Clinical Development, Medical Affairs
and Pharmacovigilance experience. His work has focused on the
clinical development and commercialisation of both small molecules
and biopharmaceuticals across a number of therapy areas.
Tim Edwards,
Executive Chairman of Atopix commented:
"I'm pleased to welcome Andy to Atopix. We recently received
approval to begin a Phase 2a study to evaluate the effect of OC459
in patients with severe asthma who have persistent airway
eosinophilia, and trials are also continuing in atopic dermatitis
and moderate, steroid-free, eosinophilic asthma. Andrew's breadth
of knowledge and his experience of developing and managing clinical
trials will be invaluable to the Company as we seek to realise the
potential of OC459 and ATX2417."
Commenting on his appointment Dr Andrew Zambanini said: "I am excited to be
working with Atopix and am looking forward to collaborating with
the Management Team to progress its pipeline of promising medicines
through clinical development. The Th2 mechanism has the
potential to offer significant advances in treatment for serious
disease and I believe Atopix is very well positioned in what is a
fast-moving field which could impact the treatment of many people
worldwide."
About Atopix Therapeutics Ltd
Atopix Therapeutics Limited is a clinical-stage biotechnology
company developing novel treatments for Th2-mediated diseases
including atopic dermatitis and severe asthma. Atopix has a
pipeline of once-daily, oral small molecule CRTH2 antagonists for
Th2-mediated disorders. Its lead product, OC459, is in four
proof-of-concept clinical studies including a Phase 2 clinical
trial for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and a Phase 2 trial
for severe asthma. Its next-generation CRTH2 antagonist, ATX2417,
is being assessed in a Phase 1 trial. Atopix is based in
Oxford, UK and is backed by highly
experienced investors including SR One, Wellington Partners, SV
Life Sciences and MPM Capital.
For more information, please visit
http://www.atopixtherapeutics.com.
About Th2-mediated disease
The Th2 mechanism is central to a range of diseases including
atopic dermatitis and asthma. Therapies targeting Th2 have the
potential to offer significant advances in treatment for patients
and address a $10bn market. Clinical
validation is building with studies of therapies counteracting Th2
responses under development at major pharmaceutical companies and
showing positive results in clinical trials. Atopix is developing
highly specific, highly potent oral Th2 drug candidates that
address CRTH2 - a cell surface receptor pivotal to the Th2
mechanism - and which possess excellent drug like
characteristics.
About OC459
OC459 is Atopix's lead development candidate - an orally active
CRTH2 antagonist. OC459 was the first to demonstrate the clinical
utility of CRTH2 antagonists and has been shown to be effective in
the treatment of eosinophilic asthma and allergic rhinitis. It is
effective when dosed once a day and provides marked improvements in
patients with a Th2 dominant form of the disease who typically
experience more severe symptoms and are prone to exacerbations.
OC459 has demonstrated an excellent safety profile in more than 750
patients. Atopix is now investing in three clinical studies of
OC459 with highly-targeted patient populations in atopic dermatitis
and severe eosinophilic asthma.
For more information please contact:
Atopix Therapeutics Ltd
Tim Edwards, Executive Chairman
+44(0)1235-841563
atopix@atopixtherapeutics.co.uk
Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Bielecka, Chris Gardner, Lindsey
Neville
Tel: +44(0)203-709-5700
Email: atopix@consilium-comms.com