Company Also Names Christopher Horvath, D.V.M., as Vice President of Preclinical Sciences and Marie Green, Ph.D., as Senior Program Executive
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Taligen Therapeutics Inc. today expanded its Cambridge, Mass.-based executive team with the appointment of Jeffrey T. Walsh as chief business officer. The company also announced the additions of Christopher Horvath, D.V.M., as vice president of preclinical sciences and Marie Green, Ph.D., as senior program executive.
The executive appointments reflect the advancement of Taligen’s corporate growth plan, which Taligen initiated in August with the hiring of Abbie Celniker, Ph.D., as chief executive officer. Taligen is focused on building its preclinical, CMC and clinical development operations in Cambridge while maintaining early research activities in the laboratory of Michael Holers, M.D., in Denver.
“I am pleased that Taligen has been able to attract the level of talent and experience that Mr. Walsh, Dr. Horvath and Dr. Green bring to the company,” said Celniker. “We now have in place most of the key executives we believe are necessary to advance our lead clinical candidates through preclinical development to IND submission and to continue to advance Taligen’s growth plan.”
Walsh, will contribute to the development of the company’s overall business strategy and oversee finance, legal, business development and general business operations. He has spent more than 20 years in leadership roles in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with a focus on corporate finance, strategic planning and business development while at Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., Exact Sciences Corp., Pathogenesis Corp. (now part of Novartis), and SmithKline Beecham (now part of GlaxoSmithKline).
“I am looking forward to working with Dr. Celniker and the rest of the team that she has assembled as we build upon the potential ground breaking science coming out of Dr. Holers’ laboratory,” said Walsh. “Taligen’s ability to develop multiple novel protein therapeutics targeting the alternative complement pathway and to specifically target them to sites of inflammation presents an exciting development opportunity and will afford us broad strategic latitude, including exploring substantial partnering opportunities. “
Dr. Horvath will drive the transition of basic research emerging from Dr. Holers’ laboratory into the development phase. He will oversee pharmacology, PK/PD, toxicology, pathology and biological assays. He brings to Taligen extensive experience in the preclinical development and regulatory work required to file Investigational New Drug (IND) applications. Dr. Horvath has been responsible for non-clinical pharmacology and toxicology studies for a number of biologic compounds, including monoclonal antibody immunoconjugates and nucleic acids at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Archemix Corp.
Dr. Green will lead Taligen’s development project teams for the company’s two most advanced clinical candidates, TT30 and TA106, across three potential indications: thrombotic microangiopathy, asthma and age-related macular degeneration. She has over 12 years of drug development experience first at Biogen-Idec and then at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, Dr. Green has led global project teams for several product candidates in different phases of development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
About Taligen Therapeutics
Taligen Therapeutics is focused on the discovery and development of novel protein therapeutics that are designed to modulate the alternative pathway of the complement system to treat a wide range of inflammatory conditions and diseases. The company’s lead therapeutic candidates are monoclonal antibodies and recombinant fusion proteins that target key factors in the alternative pathway, which Taligen’s founders have validated as an important amplification loop in the inflammation process. Taligen’s headquarters and late-stage research and development operations are located in Cambridge, Mass. The company also maintains a drug discovery operation in Denver under Michael Holers, M.D., which closely collaborates with an international complement biology research community. For more information, visit HYPERLINK “http://www.taligentherapeutics.com/"www.taligentherapeutics.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to development of the Company’s product candidates and potential advantages of the Company’s technology and product candidates. Actual results could differ materially from those projected and the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release.
CONTACT: Robert Flamm, Ph.D., +1-212-845-4226,
robert.flamm@russopartnersllc.com, or David Schull, +1-212-845-4226,
david.schull@russopartnersllc.com, both of Russo Partners for Taligen
Therapeutics Inc.
Web site: http://www.taligentherapeutics.com//
