BALTIMORE, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Alba Therapeutics Corporation today announced the appointment of Betsy Van Parijs, M.D., Ph.D. to Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs. In this role, Dr. Van Parijs will be responsible for leading Alba’s clinical development strategy and program execution through product approval and commercialization. Dr. Van Parijs will also serve as a member of Alba’s executive management leadership team.
“We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Van Parijs is joining Alba in this critical leadership role. Betsy is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in clinical development including the development, execution and validation of a patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instrument as a new primary efficacy endpoint for clinical trials,” said Blake Paterson, M.D., Alba’s Chief Executive Officer. “Her leadership in our efforts to validate the celiac disease activity rating score in our upcoming Phase II clinical trials will be essential for the success of AT-1001 as the first drug for celiac disease,” added Dr. Paterson.
“Alba has a singular approach to the treatment of seemingly diverse clinical syndromes. Its discovery engine and clinical path offer the promise of redefining the pathogenesis and treatment of certain autoimmune diseases. I am delighted to join such a dedicated and innovative organization,” said Dr. Van Parijs.
Prior to joining Alba, Dr. Van Parijs held senior level positions in clinical development (phases II-IV) and medical affairs at two multinational pharmaceutical companies. From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Van Parijs served as Senior Director, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs in the Infectious Diseases Center (Anti-Infectives) at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where she was responsible for directing the clinical sections of regulatory submissions, defining and implementing later phase clinical strategy for Anti-Infectives in the pipeline, and for medical affairs, including promotional review activities of the late phase group focusing on marketed products. Dr. Van Parijs also led the development, execution and validation of a new primary efficacy endpoint for clinical trials in acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). From 2001-2002, Dr. Van Parijs served as Director, Global Medical Affairs (Vaccines) at Wyeth. She also led the clinical development through to submission and market support of some vaccines for GSK earlier, enhancing her experience in the application of clinical immunology to the clinical development, submission and commercialization process.
Dr. Van Parijs holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and earned her M.D. from Christian Medical College, Vellore, University of Madras in Tamil Nadu, India. She has published numerous research and clinical development articles and has received various honors including GSK’s R&D Silver Award for Leadership in Developing a New Patient-Reported Outcomes Instrument for AECOPD.
About Alba
Alba Therapeutics Corporation is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Baltimore, Maryland. Alba is dedicated to the development and commercialization of disease-modifying therapeutics to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, drug delivery agents and mucosal vaccine adjuvants by exploiting its technology to regulate the assembly and disassembly of tight junctions in cell barriers throughout the body. Alba’s lead compound, AT-1001, is targeted toward the treatment of Celiac Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Type 1 Diabetes.
Contact: Dr. Bernard McDonald Phone: 410-319-0780 E-mail: info@albatherapeutics.com Website: http://www.albatherapeutics.com
Alba Therapeutics Corporation
CONTACT: Dr. Bernard McDonald of Alba Therapeutics Corporation,+1-410-319-0780, info@albatherapeutics.com
Web site: http://www.albatherapeutics.com/
