EMERYVILLE, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Thios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the appointment of Stephen D. Harrison, Ph.D., to the position of vice president, research. Dr. Harrison will be responsible for the direction of sulfation research in the company’s programs in inflammation and cancer.
“Steve brings a wealth of expertise in research and discovery, and a thorough understanding of how to move compounds from research into clinical trials,” stated Bruce A. Hironaka, president and chief executive officer of Thios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “Steve joins Thios at an exciting time in our development as we recently in-licensed TS1, a clinical stage, sulfation-dependent compound from Wyeth and we continue to see practical applications of our sulfation technology in the areas of inflammation and cancer.”
Dr. Harrison joined Thios in January 2004 from Chiron Corporation, where he held escalating positions, most recently as program head of the kinase inhibitor program. Dr. Harrison’s responsibilities at Chiron included all aspects of drug discovery from initial target identification through development of small molecule inhibitors. In addition, he was a member of the Research Management Team responsible for supporting the transition of targeted therapeutics from the research group into the clinical development organization. Prior to Chiron, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Gerald Rubin at the University of California, Berkeley and a postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Travers at the Medical Research Counsel Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, U.K. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and an inventor on eight issued U.S. patents. Dr. Harrison holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology, and an M.A. and a B.A. in biochemistry, all from the University of Cambridge, England.
About Thios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Thios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is the leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapies that target biological sulfation. Sulfation is a major regulatory mechanism for extracellular and cell surface communication. Dysregulation of sulfation can contribute to specific diseases including inflammation, cancer and infectious disease. Sulfation of extracellular molecules is analogous to phosphorylation of intracellular proteins, a similar kind of molecular modification that has been exploited for drug development in the form of kinase inhibitors. While kinases are now widely recognized as an important class of biological targets, sulfation is rapidly emerging as an innovative field with the potential to define the next decade of drug discovery research.
Thios is backed by leading life science venture capital firms and recently signed an agreement with Wyeth to in-license TS1, a clinical stage, sulfation-dependent compound with extensive human safety data. Thios is poised to enter into clinical development with TS1, its lead product (also known as rPSGL-Ig), initially for the treatment of acute sickle cell disease crises and prevention of delayed graft function following kidney transplantation. For more information, please visit the Thios website at http://www.thiospharm.com/.
Thios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Bruce A. Hironaka, President and CEO of Thios Pharmaceuticals,Inc., bruce@thiospharm.com
Web site: http://www.thiospharm.com/
