ALAMEDA, Calif., Sept 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
today announced four key additions to the company's management team and Board
of Directors. The new appointments will support Arriva's activities as the
company registers successful results in its clinical and pre-clinical programs
in the area of respiratory disease therapeutics.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role has been filled by Robert F.
Williamson who had previously been an advisor to the company. Sue Preston has
also recently joined the company as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and
Quality, coming from Chiron Corporation where she was the Vice President of
Global Regulatory Affairs. Additionally, James F. Young, Ph.D., President,
Research and Development at MedImmune, Inc., and Paul Brooke, Advisory
Director, Morgan Stanley and Managing Member, PMSV Holdings L.L.C., have been
appointed to Arriva's Board of Directors.
"This is a growing and dynamic company that is making important research
progress into the treatment and prevention of major respiratory diseases such
as COPD and Hereditary Emphysema," said Rob Williamson. "Arriva's lead
compound, recombinant Alpha 1-Antitrypsin has generated strong data from
recent clinical studies and I am looking forward to continuing to help the
company capitalize on its scientific successes and achieve further substantial
clinical milestones," he said.
Rob Williamson was previously the President and Chief Operating Officer of
Eos Biotechnology, a therapeutic antibody company that was acquired by Protein
Design Labs in April of 2003. Formerly, he was the COO at DoubleTwist/Pangea
and a partner in Boston Consulting Group's Health Care Practice. He received a
B.A. in Economics from Pomona College and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate
School of Business.
In addition, Sue Preston has joined Arriva to lead the company's
Regulatory Affairs activities. Ms. Preston has more than 20 years of
experience in implementing novel regulatory and quality strategies for timely
product approvals. She conducted research at the National Institutes of Health
and then joined the FDA where she won awards for implementing tracking
mechanisms for regulatory submissions and coordinating the approval of
recombinant proteins. More recently, she held management positions at Chiron
Corporation, Alpha Therapeutic Corporation and Baxter Healthcare.
Expansion of the Board of Directors
The Arriva Board of Directors is expanded by the addition of Dr. James
Young and Paul Brooke. Dr. Young represents MedImmune Ventures, Inc., an
investor in Arriva and a wholly owned venture capital subsidiary of MedImmune,
Inc. Dr. Young's biotechnology experience spans two decades in the fields of
pharmaceutical development, molecular genetics, microbiology and immunology.
Dr. Young joined MedImmune in 1989 and he has primarily been responsible for
overseeing the advancement and development of MedImmune's product pipeline.
"I am extremely pleased to be in a position to help Arriva move into the
next stage of growth with the development of its clinical programs," said
Dr. Young.
Paul Brooke joins the Arriva Board as an independent director. His
experience includes a Managing Directorship at Morgan Stanley where he was the
global head of Healthcare and Research Strategy. He currently serves as a
board member of ViroPharma, WebMD, Incyte and a number of private firms.
About Arriva:
Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a privately held biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing recombinant protease inhibitors to treat
respiratory diseases. The company's areas of therapeutic focus are:
hereditary emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including
smoking-related emphysema, cystic fibrosis, asthma and other respiratory
indications
Arriva has been funded by individual seed investors, corporate partners
and venture investors including: MPM Capital, AIG Global Investments, CIBC
Capital Partners, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, MedImmune Ventures, Inc. and
ProMetic Life Sciences. Company headquarters are in Alameda, California.
For additional information please visit: http://www.arrivapharm.com.
SOURCE Arriva Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.arrivapharm.com
CONTACT:
Jennifer Larson of Arriva Pharmaceuticals,
+1-415-409-2729, or jlarson@labfive.com
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