SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Matthew A. Wikler, M.D., M.B.A., F.I.D.S.A., has joined the company as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Wikler will be a member of Mpex’s executive management team and will be responsible for all clinical development and regulatory activities for Mpex’s drug candidates. Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a San Diego-based pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new antibacterial drugs to meet the growing clinical need created by multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens.
Dr. Wikler has 24 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with extensive knowledge in anti-infective drug development and regulatory affairs. Dr. Wikler was most recently the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President at Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Johnson & Johnson. At Peninsula, Dr. Wikler led the clinical development of Peninsula’s antibacterial candidates, including doripenem now in multiple Phase III trials worldwide.
Previously, Dr. Wikler held senior level clinical positions at major pharmaceutical companies including SmithKline Beecham, Burroughs Wellcome, the Ortho-McNeil division of Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Wikler also spent two years at the Food and Drug Administration where he was the Deputy Director for the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products. For the past 15 years, Dr. Wikler has been actively involved with the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (formerly NCCLS) and is the current Chair of this Subcommittee.
“Matt clearly brings to Mpex a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of antibacterial drug clinical development and regulatory affairs, and we are very pleased that he has decided to join our growing team” states Bill Gerhart, President and CEO. “As Mpex advances multiple antibacterial candidates into clinical development in the coming years, Matt’s valuable perspective and stewardship will insure these candidates are optimally advanced to maximize our probability of success.”
Dr. Wikler received his BA from Franklin and Marshall College, his M.D. degree from Temple University, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business. In addition, Dr. Wikler completed his infectious diseases fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
About Mpex Pharmaceuticals:
Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a San Diego-based pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new antibacterial drugs to meet the growing clinical need created by multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. Resistance to multiple antibiotics has resulted in unacceptably high morbidity and mortality rates that costs the U.S. healthcare system $5 billion annually and kills more than 90,000 Americans each year. Despite the efforts of drug development companies, new antibiotics have failed to significantly improve these worsening statistics. To address this medical need, Mpex is developing inhibitors of bacterial resistance that can be combined with proven antibiotics to significantly increase their potency against resistant bacteria. For more information: www.mpexpharma.com
Mpex Pharmaceuticals is a registered trademark of Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All other product and company names may be registered trademark or trademarks of their respective owners.
Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Neil Berkley of Mpex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-858-875-2840, ext.223, nlberkley@mpexpharma.com; or Jennifer Larson of WeissComm Partners,+1-415-946-1074, jlarson@weisscommpartners.com, for Mpex Pharmaceuticals,Inc.
Web site: http://www.mpexpharma.com//
