SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- NicOx S.A. (Eurolist: COX) today announced the appointment of Pascal Pfister MD as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). In this role Dr. Pfister will report to Michele Garufi, Chairman and CEO, and will have overall responsibility for NicOx’ Research and Development (R&D) activities, notably the Research, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Development and Drug Development Departments. Dr. Pfister will bring extensive experience and leadership to NicOx from his 19 year career at Novartis and Sandoz.
NicOx has also further strengthened its R&D team through the appointment of Jacques Djian MD as Cardiometabolic Area Leader, who will advise and manage NicOx’ R&D in the cardiometabolic disease area.
Michele Garufi, Chairman and CEO of NicOx, declared: “Dr. Pfister has considerable experience in managing drug development organizations and will bring strong leadership to the high quality team we have assembled. His appointment will facilitate the productivity of our Project Teams and ensure optimal coordination of NicOx’ product development strategy across the entire portfolio, both internally and together with our corporate partners. Moreover, his previous involvement in the launch and pre-launch of major new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry should prove invaluable as naproxcinod advances towards regulatory filing and launch. In addition, the recruitment of Dr. Djian brings substantial expertise in the metabolic and cardiovascular areas, where our technology has been shown to have significant potential.”
Dr. Pfister’s previous management career includes 19 years at Novartis & Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in France, Switzerland and in the US, where he has occupied positions of growing responsibility in a range of therapeutic fields, including the inflammatory and cardiometabolic disease areas. His most recent position was Vice President, Global Therapeutic Area Head for Respiratory & Dermatology, Clinical Development & Medical Affairs where he was responsible for managing a large team across Europe, the United Kingdom and the US.
He has successfully participated in the development and subsequent launch and marketing of several brands, including Lescol(R) (fluvastatin) for hypercholesterolemia and Foradil(R) and Xolair(R) for the treatment of asthma (see NOTE). Dr. Pfister was also actively involved in the optimization of the late stage development plans for Starlix(R) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and Prexige(R), a COX-2 Inhibitor for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other products in the field of dermatology (Elidel(R)) and transplantation (Myfortic(R) and Certican(R)), see NOTE. Pascal Pfister is a Medical Doctor, who graduated from the Necker School of Medicine of the University René Descartes in Paris and he also holds a diploma in pharmaceutical medicine. Prior to joining the Pharmaceutical Industry, Dr. Pfister held a post-doctoral position where he studied drugs that affect lipid metabolism at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Canada.
Pascal Pfister commented: “I am impressed by the potential of NicOx’ late stage products and look forward to driving the development of this maturing portfolio in the cardiometabolic and inflammatory disease areas. NicOx’ ambition of transforming itself into an integrated company inspires me and I am keen to contribute to the future success of naproxcinod. I am delighted to be joining NicOx at this important juncture for the Company.”
Jacques Djian appointed Cardiometabolic Area Leader
Dr. Djian comes to NicOx with 16 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was previously the Senior Scientific Consultant for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease issues at Novartis. Dr. Djian has also worked for Wyeth Research as Global Senior Director of the Cardiovascular Area and at Sanofi, where he was Scientific Director of Clinical Development. He has successfully participated in the development of the antihypertensive drug Aprovel(R) (irbesartan) and the anti-platelet agent Plavix(R) (clopidogrel), see NOTE. Jacques Djian is a Medical Doctor and graduated from the University of Paris. He has also been a practicing cardiologist at Saint-Joseph Hospital in Paris.
NOTE: Certican(R), Elidel(R), Foradil(R), Lescol(R), Myfortic(R), Starlix(R) and Prexige(R) are registered trademarks of Novartis Group; Xolair(R) is registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.; Aprovel(R) is registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Plavix(R) is a registered trademark of Sanofi-Aventis.
NicOx (Bloomberg: COX: FP, Reuters: NCOX.PA) is a product-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of nitric oxide- donating drugs to meet unmet medical needs. NicOx is targeting the therapeutic areas of inflammation and cardio-metabolic disease. Resources are focused on two lead compounds, naproxcinod (formerly HCT 3012); in phase 3 development for the treatment of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, and NCX 4016, in phase 2 for type 2 diabetes.
NicOx has strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc.
NicOx S.A. is headquartered in Sophia-Antipolis, France, and is a public company listed on the Eurolist of Euronext(TM) Paris (segment: Next Economy).
The elements included in this communication may contain forward-looking statements subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results of the company may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements because of different risks factors described in the company’s document de reference.
NicOx
CONTACT: Media, Karl Hanks of NicOx, Manager of Corporate Relations andMarket Analysis, +33(0)4-97-24-53-42, or hanks@nicox.com; Jonathan Birt,+1-212-850-5634, or jbirt@fd-us.com; Valerie Auffray, +44(0)207-282-2979,or valerie.auffray@citigatedr.co.uk; David Dible, +44(0)207-282-2949, ordavid.dible@citigatedr.co.uk; Investors, Lisa Burns, +1-212-213-0006, orlburns@burnsmc.com; Juliane Snowden, 1-212-213-006, jsnowden@burnsmc.com
Web site: http://www.nicox.com/
