Dr. Coleman (age 60) brings to Novexel close to three decades of experience of scientific research in the areas of microbiology and pharmacology. Prior to joining Novexel, Dr. Coleman was Director of the Infection Cellular Biosciences department at AstraZeneca (AZ) R&D in Boston. In this position he was part of the management team which was responsible for creating the vision and implementing the business strategy for AZ Infection. AZ Infection’s R&D efforts in Boston were focused on developing anti-bacterial agents with novel modes of action. Moreover, during his time at AZ R&D he managed a number of research and development teams. Prior to joining AZ in 2001, Dr. Coleman was Head of Antimicrobial Profiling & Assay Development at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals where he was in charge of the in vitro evaluation of all project compounds from discovery through development.
Dr. Kenneth Coleman has a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology/Chemistry and a Ph.D in Microbiology and has published extensively in the anti-infectives field. Dr. Coleman has also been a member of several external Boards, including acting as an advisor to the ‘Center for Strategic and International Studies’ scientific advisory board in Washington DC, USA.
Iain Buchanan, CEO of Novexel said: “I am delighted to welcome Ken to Novexel where he will lead the discovery and preclinical efforts of the Company. The search for novel class anti-infective agents with activity against resistant strains will remain a research priority for the Company. Ken's contribution to this mission will be invaluable.”
Commenting on his new appointment, Dr. Coleman said: “I am delighted to be joining Novexel at such an exciting point in its development as it moves towards its goal of becoming a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on novel anti-infectives. I look forward to working with the Novexel team and to making an important contribution to the Company’s future success.”
About Novexel
Novexel is a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics designed to overcome the significant global problem of microbial resistance. The ever increasing resistance to marketed antibiotics has led to a clear need for novel drugs that are active against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Novexel’s products are targeting the global hospital antibiotic market, which was worth an estimated $15bn in 2007 according to information derived from the IMS Midas® database.
Novexel currently has two novel antibacterials in Phase II clinical development. These are the injectable beta-lactamase inhibitor, NXL104, which is being developed in combination with the cephalosporin antibiotic ceftazidime for serious Gram negative infections, and the oral streptogramin antibiotic, NXL103, for the treatment of Gram positive infections, with a focus on treatment in the hospital setting and intravenous (IV) to oral switch. Novexel has three further programmes in preclinical development, NXL105, a novel anti-Pseudomonal antibiotic, NXL201, a novel echinocandin antifungal agent, and NXL104 in combination with ceftaroline. This latter product is being developed by our partner, Forest Laboratories, solely for North American markets.
Novexel was created in December 2004 as an independent spin-out of the sanofi-aventis (Euronext Paris: SAN, NYSE: SNY) anti-infectives unit. Novexel has a team of 50 employees with significant experience in anti-infective research and development, who are located in Paris, France and Philadelphia, USA.
