CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ardea Biosciences, Inc. today announced the formation of an inflammatory disease Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB will provide independent scientific advice and counsel to the Company regarding key decisions relating to the research and development of drugs to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, such as gout and rheumatoid arthritis.
“We have brought together a group of international authorities in gout and arthritis to form the core of our inflammatory disease SAB,” said Barry D. Quart, PharmD, Ardea Biosciences’ President and CEO. “These experts will play an integral role in guiding our inflammatory product development strategies.”
Mark C. Genovese, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Co-Chief of the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Genovese established a clinical research program at Stanford University that is focused on bench-to-bedside translational medicine in autoimmune diseases and has designed and participated in many trials investigating novel therapies and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of autoimmune disease and arthritis. He has served as an editor for the textbook, Primary Care Rheumatology, as an associate editor for Kelley’s Essentials of Internal Medicine and as an editor on the 7th edition of Kelley’s Textbook of Rheumatology.
Arthur Kavanaugh, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Director of the Center for Innovative Therapy in the UCSD Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology. Dr. Kavanaugh has authored more than 240 scientific publications and book chapters. He is on the editorial board for several journals, and has served as peer reviewer for more than a dozen scientific journals. Dr. Kavanaugh is a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
John S. Sundy M.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Medicine and Head of the Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Sundy is Director of the adult allergy training program at Duke, and is Director of rheumatology research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He is board certified in the fields of Rheumatology and Allergy/Immunology and is a national leader in the clinical testing of novel therapies for gout. His additional research interests include translational studies in inflammatory diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Ikumi Tamai, Ph.D., is Professor of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan. His research has focused on the relevance of transporters to the efficacy and toxicity of drugs, as well as the pharmacokinetics of drugs and its application to intestinal drug delivery. Recent areas of study include transporters in the lung, uric acid transporters, drug-induced changes in uric acid transporters, species effect on transporters and drug transports related to intestinal absorption and elimination. He has published over 180 original articles mainly related to transporters.
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 investigating RDEA806 for the treatment of gout. The Company’s lead mitogen-activated ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor, RDEA119, is in a Phase 1 study in advanced cancer patients and is being investigated for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. 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 studies, risks related to regulatory approvals, delays in commencement of preclinical and clinical studies, 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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