Xalud Therapeutics Appoints Diem Nguyen, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer

“Diem’s vision and leadership will enable Xalud to realize the full potential of its non-viral gene therapy platform. This will serve as the foundation for building a franchise of therapeutic opportunities to address neuroimmunology, particularly as it relates to inflammation,” said Paul Manning, chairman of Xalud’s board of directors. “Diem has a tremendous track record of building highly successful biopharma business units across therapeutic areas, functionalities and geographies. We are very fortunate to have her at the helm of Xalud.”

Dr. Nguyen added, “I am drawn to opportunities where I can create businesses that are truly transformative in providing patient care. That is what I see in Xalud – purpose, innovation and an opportunity for large scale impact. There are numerous diseases that involve inflammation caused by impairment of IL-10 signaling. This results in over 200 million people globally suffering from chronic inflammation and associated pain. In our lead indication, Xalud is advancing a therapy that addresses pain associated with osteoarthritis, a debilitating process for many patients. It is my vision to significantly improve the lives of these millions by bringing Xalud’s immune-modulating gene therapy to them.”

Dr. Nguyen joins Xalud from PPD, Inc., a leading global clinical research organization providing integrated drug development services, where she served as executive vice president of Biopharma. Dr. Nguyen joined PPD from Pfizer in 2018, where she was global president, Americas, Pfizer Essential Health and Global Sterile Injectables, and responsible for commercial businesses in the U.S., Latin America, Canada and Puerto Rico with more than $11 billion in annual revenue. She led commercial development for the Sterile Injectables business with more than $6 billion in annual revenue globally. Additionally, Dr. Nguyen spearheaded the de novo creation of Pfizer’s Biosimilars business, including development of multiple monoclonal biologics across inflammation and oncology.

Dr. Nguyen currently serves on the board of Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Vitara and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Virginia (UVA), as well as an M.B.A. from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Her bachelor’s degree in chemistry is also from UVA.

About Xalud Therapeutics

Xalud Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a non-viral gene therapy platform to treat pathologic inflammation through immune modulation. The company is harnessing the power of interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent cytokine that acts as a master regulator for multiple inflammatory pathways, to address the root cause of inflammation and subsequently restore homeostasis in the immune system. Xalud’s lead product candidate, XT-150, is a locally injectable plasmid DNA gene therapy expressing IL-10 to address pathologic inflammation and pain.

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