SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Lori A. Kunkel, M.D. has been hired as Chief Medical Officer of Proteolix, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area biopharmaceutical company. Proteolix is focused on advancing novel proteasome inhibitors into the clinic for the treatment of cancer and immune disease. Currently, carfilzomib (PR-171), a potent and selective proteasome inhibitor with a favorable safety profile, is in Phase I clinical trials in patients with multiple myleoma and lymphoma.
"Lori's extensive background in oncology and immunology makes her an ideal Chief Medical Officer for Proteolix," said Susan M. Molineaux, President and CEO of Proteolix. "She has comprehensive experience in clinical trial development, and has built teams from preclinical through post-launch. We look forward to having her as part of the team as we move into more extensive clinical development."
Dr. Kunkel commented, "As a consultant to the company prior to accepting this position, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the amazing progress made by the Proteolix team. I am excited to be a part of this organization, and look forward to working with this first Proteolix agent as a potential next-generation treatment for patients with multiple myeloma and other malignancies, as well as advancing the growing Proteolix preclinical pipeline into the clinic."
Dr. Kunkel's Background
Dr. Kunkel received her M.D. at the University of Southern California and completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Subsequently, Dr. Kunkel completed Hematology and Oncology Fellowships at the University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles, respectively. She is board certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology, and has over twelve years in drug development experience. From 2005 until 2007, Dr. Kunkel served as Vice President of Clinical Development of Xenocor, Inc. Prior to her tenure with Xenocor, Inc., Dr. Kunkel was an independent clinical oncology and immunology consultant, offering strategic clinical, regulatory and technical advice to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Dr. Kunkel has also held senior positions at Genentech, Chiron Corporation (now Novartis) and Genitope Corporation.
About Proteolix
Proteolix, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and marketing pharmaceutical products that target certain cancers by inhibiting the proteasome and thereby disrupting protein turnover in cells, particularly cancer cells, which leads to cell death. Proteolix is developing next generation proteasome inhibitors, including an oral proteasome inhibitor and a selective immunoproteasome inhibitor, to expand the therapeutic potential of this new target class. Proteolix is headquartered in South San Francisco. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.proteolix.com .
CONTACT: Stephen Brady, Executive Director, Business and Legal Affairs, 650-615-7521.
Proteolix, Inc.CONTACT: Stephen Brady, Executive Director, Business and Legal Affairs ofProteolix, Inc., +1-650-615-7521
Web site: http://www.proteolix.com//
