OXFORD, England, October 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxford Genome Sciences (UK) Ltd “OGeS” announces today that it has further strengthened its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the appointment of Sir Walter Bodmer, currently Head of the Cancer and Immunogenetics Laboratory in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford, which is actively researching the fundamental genetic and biological changes which lead to the development of colorectal cancer.
In addition to the SAB appointment, OGeS and Sir Walter’s laboratory will collaborate on the evaluation of OGeS cancer drug development candidates in the area of colorectal cancer.
Prior to taking up his current position, Sir Walter Bodmer was the Director General of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, a position he assumed after having been the Fund’s Director of Research for 12 years. Before joining the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, he was the Professor of Genetics at the University of Oxford. Dr Bodmer moved to Oxford University from Stanford University where he was a Professor in the Department of Genetics.
Dr Bodmer, who has developed models for population genetics, worked extensively on the HLA system and the use of somatic cell hybrids for human linkage studies, received his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1959 from the University of Cambridge. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, a foreign member of the US national Academy of Sciences in 1981 and was knighted in 1986 for his contributions to science.
Dr Christian Rohlff, CEO of OGeS commenting on today’s announcement said:
“I am delighted that someone of Walter’s scientific standing has agreed to join our Scientific Advisory Board. I am sure his broad ranging experience in genetics and biology and his current work in the field of colorectal cancer will allow him to make an important contribution to OGeS as we continue to further develop our position in the exciting field of personalised medicines. With our collaborations with both Medarex and Biosite making significant progress, these are exciting times for OGeS.”
Sir Walter Bodmer commenting on his appointment said:
“I have been highly impressed with the team of people that Christian has built at Oxford Genome Sciences. I am looking forward to working with them and bringing my expertise to help the company developing the personalised medicines that I believe are needed to dramatically improve the treatment of cancer.”
About Oxford Genome Sciences
Oxford Genome Sciences (OGeS) is focused on the development of targeted medicines for oncology. The company uses OGAP(R), which it has developed into the world’s largest cancer protein database, to discover novel clinically relevant drug targets and diagnostics.
OGeS’ strategy is to use its unique and integrated OGAP(R) discovery platform in alliances with the world’s leading antibody companies to develop OGeS targets into new antibody therapeutics and diagnostics that will deliver innovative and cost-effective medicines to fulfil unmet patient needs in the field of cancer. The company has signed a number of collaborations in the area of cancer, which are together designed to achieve OGeS’ objective of developing novel personalised solutions to the management of cancer. Specifically in 2006, OGeS entered into partnerships with Medarex to discover, develop and commercialise new human antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancers and with Biosite to develop a new diagnostic protein panel for relapsing colorectal cancer. In parallel, OGeS provides biomarker discovery and screening services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
OGeS, a privately held company, was formed in 2004 and is based near Oxford, UK.
About OGAP(R)
Oxford Genome Anatomy Project (OGAP) holds the world’s largest proprietary collection of proteins represented by the database, which contains over one million peptide sequences from 50 tissues and 60 disease states, mapped to approximately 15,000 genes and over eight million SNPs and haplotypes. The database can be customised for individual partners to support and enhance their preclinical and clinical drug development activities.
http://www.oxfordgenomesciences.comchristian.rohlff@oxfordgenomesciences.comvalerie.auffray@citigatedr.co.uk
CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Oxford Genome Sciences,
Dr Christian Rohlff, Chief Executive Officer, Tel: +44-(0)1235-861-770,
christian.rohlff@oxfordgenomesciences.com; Citigate Dewe Rogerson, David
Dible, Valerie Auffray, Tel: +44-(0)207-638-9571,
valerie.auffray@citigatedr.co.uk
