GHENT, Belgium, 20 May 2009 – Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today that it has appointed Dr. Christian Duby as Medical Director and Mr. Sean A. MacDonald as Business Development Director.
Christian Duby
Dr. Duby has over sixteen years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical industry, with expertise in the fields of allergy, cardiology and pneumology. In his position as Medical Director, Dr. Duby will be closely involved in the development and management of Ablynx’s therapeutic programmes. He will report to Josi Holz, Chief Medical Officer. Christian Duby holds a Master of Science degree in Bioengineering from Columbia University and a Medical Doctor’s degree from the Free University of Brussels. He started his career in industry 1992 at UCB Pharma and has also held senior clinical research and marketing positions within pharmaceutical companies including Amgen, GSK and Servier.
Sean A. MacDonald
Mr. MacDonald joins the Ablynx business development team from TopoTarget A/S in Denmark where he was the Director of Business Development. He will report to Eva-Lotta Allan, Chief Business Officer. Sean A. MacDonald has an extensive background in venture capital, commercial development, and deal-making in the biotechnology industry internationally. He studied at the University of Ottawa in Canada and holds a BSc in biology and biotechnology and an MBA. He founded MD Biotech in 1998, a biotechnology consultancy. After marketing roles at Shire Pharmaceuticals, Mr. MacDonald joined the investment team at SGF Health Inc. Prior to joining TopoTarget, he held business development positions at H3 Pharma and Bioneer A/S.
On the appointment of Dr. Duby and Mr. MacDonald, Dr. Edwin Moses, CEO and Chairman of Ablynx said: “We are delighted to welcome Sean and Christian to Ablynx. Both Sean and Christian have distinguished track records within the biotech and pharmaceutical industry and will add considerable value to the Company. Their wealth of knowledge and relevant expertise will be an invaluable resource to Ablynx as we continue to invest in and build our Company. We are on track to have four Nanobodies® in the clinic by the end of 2009.”
About Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] - http://www.ablynx.com
Founded in 2001 in Ghent, Belgium, Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, for a range of serious and life-threatening human diseases. The Company currently has over 200 employees. Ablynx completed a successful IPO on Euronext Brussels [ABLX] on 7 November 2007.
Ablynx is developing a portfolio of Nanobody®-based therapeutic programmes in a number of major disease areas, including inflammation, thrombosis, oncology and Alzheimer’s disease. Nanobodies® have been generated against more than 100 different disease targets. Importantly the Nanobodies® which naturally exist in llamas have a very high homology with humans. Efficacy data has been obtained in over 25 in vivo models for Nanobodies® against a range of different targets.
Ablynx has an extensive patent position in the field of Nanobodies® for healthcare applications. It has exclusive and worldwide rights to more than 50 families of granted patents and pending patent applications, including the Hamers patents covering the basic structure, composition, preparation and uses of Nanobodies®.
Ablynx has ongoing research collaborations and significant partnerships with several major pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Serono, Novartis and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Ablynx is building a diverse and broad portfolio of therapeutic Nanobodies® through these collaborations as well as through its own internal discovery programmes. The Company’s lead programme, ALX-0081, an intravenously administered novel anti-thrombotic has reached its primary endpoint in a multi-dose Phase Ib study in patients undergoing PCI and ALX-0681, also an anti-thrombotic but with a subcutaneous route of administration has started Phase I in healthy volunteers. Ablynx has progressed ALX-0141, an anti-RANKL Nanobody® for bone disorders into preclinical development. In addition, Ablynx’s partner Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has initiated a Phase I study in December 2008 for an anti-TNF alpha Nanobody®.
