(OCTOBER 24, 2013) Melbourne, Australia - Australian veterinary biologic drug developer Nexvet Biopharma (Nexvet) has appointed Dr. Colin Giles as its Vice-President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, based in the USA.
Dr. Giles was formerly Vice President for Veterinary Medicine Pharmaceuticals R&D at Pfizer Animal Health in Michigan, USA, and has successfully managed complex multi-disciplinary programs and delivered innovative products to the market in both the companion animal and livestock sectors.
Nexvet CEO, Dr. Mark Heffernan, welcomed Dr. Giles to the Nexvet team:
“Colin is renowned in the global animal health sector for his experience in veterinary medicine, clinical R&D and regulatory development. His experience and networks are a very valuable addition to Nexvet and he will offer essential insights into the complexities of successfully navigating our planned clinical and regulatory milestones,” said Dr Heffernan. “Colin’s leadership in the development of many innovative veterinary products, including pain medication for dogs with osteoarthritis, will be instrumental now that our own monoclonal antibody products are entering development”.
Dr Giles is a veterinary graduate and PhD of the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London. Following a period as a practising veterinary surgeon in the United Kingdom, he was a Research Fellow and Lecturer in Veterinary Medicine at RVC before joining the Animal Health industry. He has published work in more than 40 books and journals.
Dr. Giles is currently an experienced consultant to the Animal Health industry and acts as Treasurer and member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris Animal Foundation of Denver, Colorado, USA. He joins Nexvet during a period of rapid growth for the Company and will perform a crucial role.
“I am excited to join the Nexvet team, which is on track to significantly improve the market for companion animal health globally. Nexvet’s PETisation™ technology allows us to create a strong pipeline of 100% species-specific monoclonal antibody drugs for companion animals, which is a world first. These are tailored, quality medicines that the market is ready to embrace,” said Dr. Giles.
Nexvet’s CSO, Professor David Gearing, said Nexvet’s ability to attract globally experienced staff is a firm industry endorsement of the Company’s platform technology.
“Nexvet is attracting some of the biggest names in Animal Health to join its ranks; these are experienced and well-informed individuals who can quickly and expertly evaluate a project’s worth. Colin’s appointment is yet another positive endorsement of the market opportunity we are pursuing and further supports our belief that Nexvet’s products will set a new industry standard” said Prof. Gearing. Nexvet’s technology is currently focussed on creating treatments for osteoarthritis, pain management and cancer in dogs, cats and horses. Human health biologicals are supported by years of clinical success and currently achieve annual sales of greater than $50 billion. Nexvet is actively developing a pipeline of species-specific monoclonal antibody drugs to create a major market opportunity in veterinary medicine, with a number of products completing important clinical studies over the coming months.
Dr. Giles will commence work with Nexvet in the first week of November.
About Nexvet
Nexvet Biopharma is developing safe, more effective and specific medicines for companion animals, (cats, dogs and horses). The Nexvet portfolio focuses on inflammatory disease, pain and cancer. The portfolio is composed of drugs based on successful human biologics drugs in these indications, converted to 100% species-specific versions by Nexvet’s proprietary PETisation™ technology.
PETisation™ converts biologics to species-specific analogues through a simple, rapid one-step process with a high success rate. For decades animal health companies have used drugs based on human health products with typically little optimization for the animal targets. Nexvet will address this shortcoming by introducing new highly optimized products in areas of greatest market need.
The area of biologics has become a massive growth area in human medicine, responsible for many of the most effective drugs on the market. Biologics are drugs based on natural proteins with typically good efficacy, high specificity and an excellent side-effect profile. To date, innovation and competition in biologics in the $20 billion global veterinary pharmaceuticals market has been limited. Nexvet’s team have international track records in developing human biologics combined with Veterinary expertise. Nexvet’s expertise in biologics R&D confers a strong competitive advantage and has generated an extensive intellectual property position, making Nexvet an attractive licensing partner and/or acquisition target.
Nexvet is based in Melbourne, Australia, with partners and investors located around the world. If you would like to know more about Nexvet, please visit the website at www.nexvet.com and via the contacts below.
Further information:
Investors
Mark Heffernan
Chief Executive Officer, Nexvet
+61 447 155 542
mark.heffernan@nexvet.com
Media
Haley Price
Buchan Consulting
+61 3 8866 1215
+61 423 139 163
hprice@buchanwe.com.au
Help employers find you! Check out all the jobs and post your resume.
