CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ardea Biosciences, Inc. today announced the formation of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the appointment of seven members, chaired by David D. Ho, M.D. The SAB will provide independent scientific advice and counsel to the Company regarding key decisions relating to the development of drugs to treat HIV.
“Establishing a strong scientific advisory board for our programs is key to our fundamental success,” said Barry D. Quart, PharmD, Ardea Biosciences’ President and CEO. “The HIV SAB is the first of three planned boards expected to be established during the first half of 2008, and our organization will be made stronger by the counsel of these international HIV physicians.”
David D. Ho, MD, (chairman) is the founding Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, a world-renowned biomedical research institute. He is also the Irene Diamond Professor at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Ho received his degrees from California Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ho has been at the forefront of AIDS research for 27 years, publishing over 350 papers and has received numerous honors and awards for his scientific accomplishments.
Beatriz Grinsztejn, MD, PhD, is the Director of the Instituto de Pesquisa Clinica Evandro Chagas HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Centre of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a faculty member of the Masters and PhD Degree Program on Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Dr Grinsztejn is the Principal Investigator of the NIH Clinical Trials Unit at Instituto de Pesquisa Clinica Evandro Chagas-Fiocruz, which is affiliated with the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) and with the Adult Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and the co-Principal Investigator for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) perinatal clinical trials network.
Jacob P. Lalezari, MD, is the Director of Quest Clinical Research and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF/Mount Zion Hospital. Previously, he served as co-director of the HIV Clinical Research Center at Mt. Zion Medical Center and also at the University of California in San Francisco. Since 1989, Dr. Lalezari has served as a Principal Investigator for Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical studies of new therapies for viral diseases including HIV/AIDS, CMV, HPV, HSV, Hepatitis B & C, Influenza, and RSV.
Graeme Moyle, MBBS, MD, is the Director of HIV Research Strategy at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. After graduating from the University of Adelaide, Australia, he moved to the United Kingdom and began working in HIV and AIDS working mostly at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital but also gaining experience in HIV drug development, clinical trial design and management from within the pharmaceutical industry. He is a regular presenter of original research at international conferences, is the author of around 130 peer-reviewed publications on HIV, and Editor of The Journal of Viral Entry.
M. Keith Rawlings, MD, is Medical Director for the AIDS Arms/ Peabody Health Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rawlings is currently Chair, Internal Medicine Section of the National Medical Association (NMA), and since 1994 has served as Co-Chair of the Infectious Diseases/ HIV program. Dr. Rawlings has provided direct comprehensive medical care to underserved individuals living with HIV for over 20 years.
Michael Saag, MD, is the Director of the Center for AIDS Research and the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he is also Professor of Medicine. He currently is on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine and of the International AIDS Society-USA, and is President-elect of the HIV Medical Association. Dr. Saag created a comprehensive HIV outpatient clinic, has published over 200 articles in peer reviewed journals and contributed over 50 chapters to medical textbooks.
Robert Schooley, MD, is Professor and Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases of the University of California, San Diego. He has served as Chair of the National Institutes of Health’s AIDS and Related Retrovirus 1 Study Section and as Chair of the Executive Committee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Adult Clinical Trials Group (ACTG).
About Ardea Biosciences, Inc.
Ardea Biosciences of Carlsbad, California is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule therapeutics in virology, oncology and inflammation. The Company has two product candidates in clinical development and several others in preclinical development. Ardea’s most advanced clinical development candidate is RDEA806, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), which is in a Phase 2a study for the treatment of HIV. In addition, the Company is also investigating RDEA806 for the treatment of gout. In oncology, the Company is investigating a mitogen-activated ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor, RDEA119, in a Phase 1 study in advanced cancer patients. Ardea also is developing a next-generation NNRTI for HIV and a next-generation MEK inhibitor for both cancer and inflammatory diseases.
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Ardea’s goals, including the expected properties and benefits of RDEA806, RDEA119 and its other compounds and the results of clinical and other studies. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include: risks related to the outcomes of preclinical and clinical trials, risks related to regulatory approvals, delays in commencement of preclinical and clinical tests, and costs associated with internal development and in-licensing activities. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in Ardea’s most recently filed SEC documents, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, under the headings “Risk Factors.” All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Ardea undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
CONTACT: Edie DeVine of WeissComm Partners, +1-415-946-1081, for Ardea
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