XOMA Expands U.S. Government Focus
Tuesday July 11, 1:11 pm ET
XOMA Founder Dr. Patrick Scannon to Lead Effort
BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2006--XOMA Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA - News) today announced an expansion of its effort to discover, develop and manufacture therapeutic antibodies and other proteins for the U.S. Government. Simultaneously, the company announced the appointment of Patrick J. Scannon, M.D., Ph.D. to lead this effort and announced his promotion to Executive Vice President and Chief Biotechnology Officer from his former position of Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific and Medical Officer.
In 2005, XOMA announced a $15 million contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop cell lines, optimize production processes and manufacture three antibodies against botulinum neurotoxin in support of the United States' biodefense efforts. "Since we began our contract with NIAID, it has become clear that XOMA's capabilities have many more applications in government service, particularly with our national emphasis on biodefense," said Jack Castello, XOMA's Chairman, President and CEO. "As a leading antibody discovery, development and manufacturing company with key capabilities in Bacterial Cell Expression, Phage Display and Human Engineering(TM), XOMA is well positioned to help our nation develop new defenses against biologic agents, design processes for producing these defenses, and manufacture them for future use."
Dr. Scannon founded XOMA in 1980 and has been a member of the company's executive team and Board of Directors since that time. In his new role, Dr. Scannon will drive key initiatives in national defense, serve as XOMA's chief liaison with Congress, other lawmaking branches and federal agencies of the government, and continue to oversee U.S.-based Investigator Sponsored Trials and European activities for NEUPREX® as XOMA pursues commercialization of this product. "With Pat's extensive knowledge of XOMA's capabilities and his understanding of medicine and public health, he is the ideal person to lead an expanded effort in biodefense," remarked Mr. Castello.
About XOMA
XOMA is a leader in the discovery, development and manufacture of therapeutic antibodies, with a therapeutic focus that includes cancer and immune diseases.
The company has built a premier antibody discovery and development platform that includes access to seven of the leading commercially available antibody phage display libraries and XOMA's proprietary Human Engineering(TM) and bacterial cell expression (BCE) technologies. More than 45 companies have signed BCE licenses. As a leader in therapeutic antibodies, XOMA has established a unique and comprehensive collection of technologies for antibody discovery, optimization, development and production. With a fully integrated product development infrastructure, XOMA's product development capabilities extend from preclinical sciences to product launch. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.xoma.com. |
