LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Anaptys Biosciences, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical product company, today announced the appointment of R. Scott Greer to the company’s board of directors. Mr. Greer, a founder and former chairman and CEO of Abgenix, is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with more than 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.
“Scott Greer is a stellar addition to Anaptys’ board,” said Tom Smart, chairman and chief executive officer of Anaptys. “Scott’s intimate knowledge of the therapeutic antibody space, combined with his impressive talent and track record for building and monetizing successful ventures, will bring invaluable perspective to the Anaptys team as we move toward commercialization of our novel technology and product portfolio.”
Mr. Greer is a private investor and active consultant to the life sciences industry. He currently serves as managing director of Numenor Ventures, LLC. In 1996, he founded Abgenix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing human antibody based therapeutics, and served as its CEO from inception through 2002 and as its chairman from 2000 until 2006. In 2006, Abgenix was acquired by Amgen, Inc. in a cash transaction worth approximately $2.2 billion.
Mr. Greer also served as chairman of the board of Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. In 2007, Merck acquired Sirna for approximately $1.1 billion in cash.
“Anaptys is raising the bar for antibody-based therapeutics by addressing unsolved problems in protein selection and optimization,” said Mr. Greer. “Their technology has true potential to revolutionize the field of therapeutic antibodies. I am excited to contribute to the leadership of this company during this time of significant progress and opportunity.”
Prior to forming Abgenix, Mr. Greer spent five years at Cell Genesys, Inc., a biotechnology company, initially as chief financial officer and vice president of corporate development through its early development and initial public offering, and later as senior vice president of corporate development. Prior to Cell Genesys, Greer held various positions at Genetics Institute, Inc. (acquired by American Home Products Inc.), including director of corporate development.
Mr. Greer serves as chairman of Acologix, Inc., a development stage biotech company. He is also an investor in and chairman of Inogen, Inc., a commercial stage medical device company. Greer has held director roles at CV Therapeutics, Inc. Illumina, Inc., and Affymax, Inc., all now publicly traded biotech companies. In 2000, Mr. Greer was honored as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Northern California Life Sciences).
Mr. Greer holds a B.A. in economics from Whitman College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Prior to attending business school, Mr. Greer was a certified public accountant and auditor with Coopers & Lybrand.
About Anaptys Biosciences
Anaptys is a privately-held biopharmaceutical product company and the leader in the use of somatic hypermutation (SHM) for antibody discovery and protein optimization. The company’s proprietary Omnitope-SHM(TM) System provides a robust platform for evolving and selecting optimized antibodies directed at validated, new, and previously intractable targets. This discovery platform leverages SHM, a natural process for generating antibody diversity, to rapidly and functionally select evolved proteins with enhanced bioactivities. Anaptys is pursuing multiple drug development programs with an initial focus on building a franchise of biologically synergistic product candidates. For more information, visit the company’s web site at http://www.anaptysbio.com.
CONTACT: Bob Giargiari of GPR Global, +1-619-884-4410, for Anaptys
Biosciences, Inc.
Web site: http://www.anaptysbio.com/
