HAYWARD, Calif., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the appointment of Kenneth Luskey, M.D. to the newly created position of Vice President, Clinical Research reporting to K. Alice Leung, the Company’s CEO. In his new role, Dr. Luskey will lead the clinical development of Intarcia’s proprietary drug development programs including Omega DUROS(R) therapy for hepatitis C and ITCA 650 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
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Dr. Luskey has extensive experience in endocrinology and metabolism research, as well as in drug development. He spent more than 13 years in academic medicine prior to holding leadership positions with several biopharmaceutical companies where he directed the development of new therapies for the treatment of diabetes. Dr. Luskey began his career at the National Institutes of Health before completing a fellowship and receiving a faculty appointment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. While in Dallas, he worked extensively with Drs. Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael Brown, winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1985 for their work on cholesterol metabolism. In 1991, Dr. Luskey joined Scios, Inc. (now a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies) where he led research efforts to develop new treatments for diabetes and obesity. Subsequently, Dr. Luskey joined Metabolex, Inc. where he led research and drug development programs focused on diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance as Vice President, Clinical Development. Dr. Luskey also was head of experimental medicine for Tularik Inc. (subsequently acquired by Amgen Inc.), and was most recently head of preclinical and translational medicine for Nuvelo, Inc. Dr. Luskey received his medical education at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He trained in internal medicine with a subspecialty in endocrinology and metabolism.
“We are very pleased to have Ken join Intarcia Therapeutics to lead our hepatitis C and diabetes clinical development efforts,” said Alice Leung. “Ken’s drug development experience and expertise in the areas of diabetes and metabolic diseases are tremendous assets as we prepare to initiate clinical development of ITCA 650 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We look to his significant clinical and development expertise as we bring Omega DUROS therapy into later stages of development as well as expand the Company’s pipeline in the metabolic diseases area.”
Intarcia is currently conducting a phase 1 study of Omega DUROS therapy in combination with ribavirin for the treatment of patients with HCV genotype-1 who have failed prior standard of care treatment. In addition, Intarcia is preparing to initiate a phase 1 clinical trial of ITCA 650 in the first quarter of 2009 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Both of these programs use Intarcia’s proprietary subcutaneous DUROS drug delivery technology that provides continuous and consistent administration of drug therapy.
Dr. Luskey said, “Intarcia represents a very unique opportunity. I believe the proven advantages of the DUROS delivery technology hold great potential in developing more effective treatments for many chronic diseases, including hepatitis C and type 2 diabetes. I am very excited to join Intarcia at this stage of the Company’s development and look forward to directing clinical programs to fulfill the potential of DUROS delivery in these two disease areas.”
About Intarcia
Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for patients with chronic diseases in which there are significant unmet medical needs. Intarcia’s drug development expertise and competitive edge are complemented by its ability to stabilize macromolecules and to deliver them in a constant and consistent manner via the proprietary DUROS drug delivery platform. The initial programs that Intarcia is pursuing are in hepatitis C and type 2 diabetes.
Intarcia and its logo are registered trademarks of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. DUROS is a registered trademark of ALZA Corporation.
CONTACT: David Franklin of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc., +1-510-723-3438
Web site: http://www.intarcia.com/
