MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChemoCentryx, Inc., (Nasdaq: CCXI ), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer, announced today that it has appointed Anne-Marie S. Duliege, M.D., M.S., to a newly created position within the Company. Effective immediately, Dr. Duliege will be acting as Executive Vice President, Chief of Strategic Development and Head of Immuno-oncology.
Dr. Duliege was most recently chief medical officer and head of research and development at Affymax, where she spent the last nine years. Prior to that, she was a senior medical director at Chiron, where she was responsible for the development of the company's infectious disease/immunology pipeline. She also served as senior research physician at Genentech. Dr. Duliege received her medical degree from Paris Medical School, as well as a master of science degree in epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health and a master of science degree in biostatistics from Paris Medical School.
"Anne-Marie brings a wealth of strategic clinical and portfolio development experience to this new role, which will be instrumental as we explore how to best leverage our rich and robust portfolio of chemokine and chemoattractant receptor inhibitors, particularly in fast growing areas such as immuno-oncology therapy," said Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ChemoCentryx. "With our strong IP position in chemokine receptor modulators and a wholly owned pipeline, our goal is to extract maximum value from our chemokine platform, and advance promising new therapy options for autoimmune and inflammatory disease as well as cancer. We are delighted that a person of Anne-Marie's stature, expertise, and experience will play a key role as we focus on achieving these aims."
About ChemoCentryx
ChemoCentryx, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. The chemokine system is a biological network that regulates inflammation via a collection of secreted chemokine molecules, or ligands, and their specific cell surface receptors. Based on its proprietary drug discovery and drug development platform, ChemoCentryx has generated multiple clinical and preclinical-stage programs, each targeting distinct chemokine and chemoattractant receptors with different small molecule compounds. CCX140, a CCR2 inhibitor, has been shown to be safe and well tolerated while demonstrating clinical activity on glycemic indices in a Phase II clinical trial in type 2 diabetics, and is now in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. CCX168, a C5aR inhibitor, has recently completed the first two steps in an ongoing Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated renal vasculitis (AARV). CCX168 appears to be safe, well tolerated and successful in allowing both reduction and elimination of high-dose corticosteroids, part of standard of care for AARV patients, without compromising efficacy or safety during a 12-week treatment period. Vercirnon (also known as Traficet-EN or CCX282) is a specific CCR9 inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Other clinical programs include CCX872, a next generation CCR2 inhibitor, and CCX507, a next generation CCR9 inhibitor, both of which are in Phase I clinical trials and CCX354, a CCR1 inhibitor which successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. ChemoCentryx also has several programs in advanced preclinical development.
Forward-Looking Statements
ChemoCentryx cautions that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "could," "will," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "predict," "seek," "contemplate," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by ChemoCentryx that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the ChemoCentryx business and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and ChemoCentryx undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Further information regarding these and other risks is included under the heading "Risk Factors" in ChemoCentryx's periodic reports filed with the SEC, including ChemoCentryx's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 which is available from the SEC's website ( www.sec.gov ) under the heading "Investors." All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Source: ChemoCentryx, Inc.
CCXI-G
Susan M. Kanaya Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer or Markus J. Cappel, Ph.D. Chief Business Officer 650-210-2900 Media: Susan Kinkead Kinkead Communications 415-751-3611 Investor Relations: Caitlyn Murphy Burns McClellan 212-213-0006
