SAN FRANCISCO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Takeda San Francisco Inc. announced today the appointment of Mary Haak-Frendscho, Ph.D., as president and chief scientific officer. Dr. Haak-Frendscho will be responsible for leading all activities at Takeda San Francisco including overall research and preclinical development, process development studies and operations for antibody therapeutics.
Takeda San Francisco is a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited of Osaka, Japan (“Takeda”).
“Dr. Haak-Frendscho’s strong leadership skills and biotechnology experience will greatly contribute to the success of Takeda San Francisco,” said Shigenori Ohkawa, Ph.D., general manager, pharmaceutical research division, Takeda. “Takeda San Francisco will play an increasingly critical role in the expansion of Takeda’s R&D capabilities as we look to promote the development of antibody therapeutics, and I am confident that Dr. Haak-Frendscho will help us realize our goals in the antibody field.”
With more than 17 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience, Dr. Haak-Frendscho has held positions at Genentech, Abgenix and most recently, at XOMA, where she served as chief science officer and vice president, preclinical research and development.
“I feel honored to join Takeda San Francisco,” said Dr. Haak-Frendscho. “My background in biotechnology coupled with Takeda San Francisco’s impressive existing antibody research is a natural fit, and will help realize Takeda’s plan of creating new drugs through in-house R&D activities. I look forward to working with Takeda San Francisco’s talented team to develop products that will improve the lives of patients.”
Dr. Haak-Frendscho conducted post-doctorate work at the department of immunology, Genentech Inc., in preclinical in vitro and in vivo research and development of a humanized mAb therapeutic product candidate MaE11/MaE25 (Xolair(R)). She holds a doctorate in immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s in immunology from SUNY-Stony Brook. She received a Master of Liberal Arts from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Bachelor of Science in zoology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Takeda San Francisco was established in November 2007 and supports Takeda’s therapeutic antibody research aiming to build antibody technology platforms based on technologies such as discovery and development of antibodies, enhancement of antibody activity and antibody-manufacturing in close collaboration with Takeda’s other R&D organizations.
About Takeda
Founded in 1781 and located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, http://www.takeda.com.
CONTACT: Greg Dunn, +1-312-596-3531, for Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Limited
Web site: http://www.takeda.com/
