SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trellis Bioscience, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, announced today the appointment of Brian C. Cunningham as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Cunningham, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Rigel Inc. from 1998 to 2003, retired from the law firm Cooley Godward Kronish, LLP, where he was “Of Counsel” in the Palo Alto office from 2003 through December 2006.
“Brian Cunningham brings to Trellis over 25 years of experience within the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, including both senior management roles within companies and as one of the top legal advisors within the biopharmaceutical industry for many years,” said Nolan Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., President of Trellis Bioscience. “His outstanding leadership abilities and experience within emerging companies will serve Trellis well as we seek to realize the value of our novel antibody discovery platform through both corporate partnering and through the development of our own portfolio of antibody therapeutics for use in infectious disease and oncology.”
“Trellis CellSpot(TM) screening technology, which enables the rapid identification of high quality antibodies and optimally producing cell lines too rare to be easily found by other approaches, can help shorten development timelines and rescue failed projects while remaining compatible with existing diversity-generation and antibody production technologies,” said Brian Cunningham. “I am excited to join this company whose technology offers such potential for both partnering and for the generation of next-generation, native human monoclonals with potentially better safety and simpler dosing.”
Prior to joining Rigel, Mr. Cunningham was a partner in the Cooley law firm where he was head of the Life Sciences Group, the Health Care Group and Patent Group. From May 1982 to December 1989, he served as Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of Genentech Inc. From 1992 to 1997 he served at various times as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Santa Clara University School of Law. Previously, he was Associate Corporate Counsel of Monsanto Inc. in St. Louis, MO and a securities attorney at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts in New York City. He currently serves as a director of Synarc Inc., a privately held Radiological Clinical Research Organization in San Francisco, CA, and of MacuSight Inc, a developer of ophthalmic therapeutics. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Partners in School Innovation, a not-for-profit education reform organization, member and Chairman of the Board of the Bay Area Bioscience Center and as member of the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Economic Development Authority. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute. Mr. Cunningham holds a BS in engineering science and a JD from Washington University in St Louis.
About Trellis Bioscience
Trellis Bioscience, Inc. has developed a breakthrough technology platform for discovery and selection of very rare cells that produce ideal proteins such as antibodies, selected for specificity, selectivity, affinity, secretion rate and other desired characteristics. The company’s proprietary CellSpot(TM) platform is at the convergence of nanotechnology, software, digital microscopy and biology and allows for a parallel evaluation of millions of cells simultaneously along more than 15 desired parameters in unprecedented detail. The technology has broad application in the discovery and production process development of therapeutic proteins. In addition to applying CellSpot(TM) to the discovery and manufacturing needs of partners, Trellis is developing a pipeline of native human antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease and oncology. More information about Trellis Bioscience can be found at www.trellisbio.com.
Contact: Trellis Bioscience, Inc. Brian C. Cunningham, 650-616-1121 bcunningham@trellisbio.com or Kureczka/Martin Associates Joan Kureczka, 415-821-2413 jkureczka@comcast.net
Source: Trellis Bioscience, Inc.
