CalciMedica Appoints Michael Dunn as SVP, Corporate Development

LA JOLLA, Calif., Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CalciMedica today announced the appointment of Michael Dunn as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Dunn has over 25 years of experience in life sciences business and corporate development, including licensing, partnering and financing related to technology development, drug discovery and diagnostics. He will be responsible for CalciMedica’s corporate development and partnering efforts, as the company advances proprietary second generation CRAC Channel Inhibitor (CCI) product candidates into clinical development.

Gonul Velicelebi, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer of CalciMedica, said “We are delighted to have Mike join CalciMedica at this stage of the company’s development. With at least one clinical development compound expected to enter Phase I testing next year among several very promising candidates, we believe we are the leader in CCI biology, drug discovery and development. CCIs represent a novel approach for treating multiple immune indications, and we recognize that we will need partners to explore the full potential of the compounds resulting from our platform. Mike’s experience and skill set will be particularly valuable as we move forward with our partnership discussions.”

Mr. Dunn said, “I am very excited to join CalciMedica at this time. The knowledge and experience of the team and the profiles of the molecules they are generating hold great promise for those afflicted with different types of immune-mediated disease including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, organ transplantation and asthma. There are opportunities in other disease indications as well, ranging from acute pancreatitis to cancer metastasis. I think our compounds will be very attractive to partners that are involved in or entering this important therapeutic area.”

Mr. Dunn joins CalciMedica from Biocept Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. Prior to that, he was Chief Business Officer for Monogram Biosciences through its acquisition by LabCorp. Previously, Mr. Dunn had been Chief Business Officer at ACLARA Biosciences through its merger with Virologic, Inc., which then became Monogram. He also played key corporate and business development roles at ActivX Biosciences, Aurora Biosciences, SIBIA Neurosciences, and SIBIA, Inc.

About CalciMedica, Inc.

CalciMedica is the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels and dedicated to the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The primary focus of the Company’s drug discovery effort is based on the specific inhibition of CRAC channels, a key component of the signaling pathway that controls T cells and the adaptive immune response. This pathway has been clinically validated as an important drug target in humans. The Company’s academic founders represent the core thought leaders in this exciting area of immunology and are responsible for numerous key advances in the field. CalciMedica is located in La Jolla, California. For more information please visit the Company’s website at www.calcimedica.com.

SOURCE CalciMedica