DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Serenex, Inc., an integrated oncology-focused drug discovery and development company, announced today the appointment of Virgil (Sol) Lucas, Pharm.D. to the position of vice president, clinical development, Alexander (Lex) Smith to the position of vice president, technical development and Paul Steed, Ph.D. to the position of director of biology. Dr. Lucas and Mr. Smith will be responsible for all aspects of clinical development and pharmaceutical development, respectively, and both will serve as members of the company’s senior management team. Dr. Steed will be responsible for the company’s discovery biology programs.
“We are extremely pleased to have Sol, Lex and Paul join Serenex. Sol Lucas and Lex Smith bring over 40 years of senior level clinical and pharmaceutical development experience and leadership to the company. They will be invaluable in guiding our oncology drugs through the clinic and into the hands of patients who need them,” said Dr. Richard Kent, chief executive officer at Serenex. “We also welcome Paul Steed and his many years of research experience. We look forward to Paul adding value to our entire pipeline of products.”
Dr. Lucas joins Serenex from GlaxoSmithKline, where he was senior therapeutic area director, oncology clinical pharmacology discovery medicine. In this position, Dr. Lucas primarily managed physicians, pharmacokineticists and clinical research scientists in guiding pre-clinical drugs through proof of concept. In prior positions Dr. Lucas has managed all stages of oncology clinical development. Mr. Smith joins Serenex from Fulcrum Pharma Developments, Inc. where he was vice president, drug product development. Prior to that, Mr. Smith spent several years with Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was responsible for drug formulation and clinical manufacturing. Dr. Steed joins Serenex from Amphora Discovery Corporation where he was executive director, preclinical biology, responsible for the preclinical pipeline of all discovery projects.
About Serenex
Serenex is an integrated oncology-focused drug discovery and development company. The company’s mission is to improve the lives of cancer patients by developing proprietary therapeutic and supportive care products. Serenex’s clinical-stage program, SNX-1012, a product for chemotherapy and radiation- induced oral mucositis, is scheduled to begin Phase II clinical trials in early 2006. Additionally, Serenex has a novel pre-clinical small molecule inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) which is scheduled to begin clinical trials in early 2007. Hsp90 is a chaperone protein for a variety of oncogene products (such as Her2 and Raf) and their downstream signaling molecules (such as Akt and Erk). Serenex’s pipeline is fed by a proprietary chemoproteomics platform which enables the company to profile compounds, in high throughput, against thousands of important therapeutic and toxicity targets simultaneously. By screening compounds in this manner Serenex is able to better understand specificity and toxicity issues, drive structure-activity relationships (SAR) and help determine mechanism of action. Since 2001 Serenex has worked with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in return for revenues and milestone payments.
Website: http://www.serenex.com. CONTACT: Ian Howes, CFO & Sr. V.P. Corporate Development, Serenex, Inc. 919/281-6001 ihowes@serenex.com Michelle Linn, Linnden Communications. 508/419-1555 linnmich@comcast.net
Serenex, Inc.
CONTACT: Ian Howes, CFO & Sr. V.P. Corporate Development of Serenex, Inc.,+1-919-281-6001, ihowes@serenex.com; or Michelle Linn of LinndenCommunications, +1-508-419-1555, linnmich@comcast.net
Web site: http://www.serenex.com//