GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedImmune, Inc. today announced that it has promoted three senior leaders within its research and development (R&D) and medical organizations. The new executive appointments include Iksung Cho, vice president, biostatistics; Anthony J. Coyle, Ph.D., vice president, R&D, and head, inflammation and autoimmunity research; and Barbara White, M.D., vice president, clinical development, inflammatory disease.
“As MedImmune drives progress through its pipeline, the company relies on a growing number of senior leaders to contribute their expertise strategically,” said David M. Mott, chief executive officer and president. “Iksung’s statistical contributions have been critical in ensuring that we have solid Phase 3 pivotal data in support of our near-to-market infectious disease product candidates. Similarly, Anthony and Barbara have used their depth of experience and knowledge to advance important programs within our growing inflammatory disease portfolio.”
In his new role as vice president, biostatistics, Iksung Cho manages a team of nearly 20 statisticians who conduct activities such as clinical trial design and analysis for MedImmune’s research, development, clinical, regulatory and manufacturing organizations. He joined Aviron in 1997 as the primary statistician for the company’s influenza vaccine program. MedImmune completed the acquisition of Aviron in 2002. Previously, Mr. Cho had worked at Merck Research Laboratories within the vaccines development group. He holds masters of science degrees in mathematics and statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and has completed additional graduate-level coursework at Virginia Polytechnic & State University and Temple University. Mr. Cho is also the co-author of approximately 30 manuscripts or abstracts on vaccines and statistics.
As vice president, research and development, and head, inflammation and autoimmunity research, Anthony J. Coyle, Ph.D., oversees MedImmune’s preclinical research in disease areas such as asthma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and sepsis. Prior to joining MedImmune as a senior director in 2005, Dr. Coyle served as director, inflammation biology, at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition, he worked as a research scientist in the immunology department at the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology in Geneva, Switzerland. He also has more than six years of experience as a post-doctoral research assistant in immunology and pharmacology at Institut Pasteur in Paris and the National Jewish Center of Immunology in Denver. Dr. Coyle is a member of the American Thoracic Society and has published more than 120 scientific papers. He earned his bachelor of science and doctoral degrees in pharmacology from Kings College of the University of London.
Barbara White, M.D., now serves as vice president, clinical development, inflammatory disease. She joined MedImmune in January 2006 as senior director, and was appointed head of the inflammatory disease group in clinical development in November 2006. Prior to joining MedImmune, Dr. White was a director of medical affairs, inflammation therapeutic area, at Amgen where her activities included leading non-registration internal and external clinical research programs. Prior to 2003, Dr. White served as professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, department of medicine, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She was formerly associate chief of staff of the research service at the Baltimore Veteran Administration (VA) Medical Center, one of the largest VA-based research programs in the country, where her research focused on immune-mediated mechanisms of lung fibrosis in scleroderma. Dr. White also previously served as co-director of the Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland Scleroderma Center. She has been active in the American College of Rheumatology, serving as chair of the research committee and as a member of the board of directors, and has served as an ad hoc member of the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee. She has served on the editorial boards of Arthritis & Rheumatism and Arthritis Care and Research and has been a reviewer for numerous journals and grant review panels. Dr. White received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and is board certified in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Allergy/Clinical Immunology. She completed her postdoctoral studies in basic cellular immunology at the National Institutes of Health.
About MedImmune, Inc.
MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians, rewarding careers to employees, and increased value to shareholders. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company is focused on the areas of infectious disease, cancer and inflammatory diseases. With more than 2,500 employees worldwide, MedImmune is headquartered in Maryland. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.medimmune.com.
MedImmune, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Kate Barrett, +1-301-398-4320, or Investors, BeatricePierre, +1-301-398-4905, both of MedImmune, Inc.
Web site: http://www.medimmune.com//
