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Halle/Saale, Sept.13, 2010 — Probiodrug AG (Probiodrug), a biotech company developing novel products for the treatment of neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease, today announced the appointment of Dr Kumar Srinivasan, MBA, to the position of Chief Business Officer.
Kumar Srinivasan joins Probiodrug from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, where he has been Vice President, Global Business Development. Prior to joining Wyeth in 2005, he was Vice President, Corporate Development at TorreyPines Therapeutics Inc. (now Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp).
His career also includes positions as Principal Research Scientist at Sibia Neurosciences, where he was part of a team that discovered and developed a new compound to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, he was a researcher at Genta, Inc., and at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.
Dr Srinivasan studied chemistry at the University of Madras, India, and at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), where he obtained his PhD. He also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
“We are very pleased that we were able to attract Dr Srinivasan as Chief Business Officer,” said Dr Konrad Glund, CEO of Probiodrug. “His scientific and business background and an outstanding track record in executing numerous significant deals with pharma and biotech companies on behalf of Wyeth and TorreyPines is of great value for us.”
“I am extremely impressed by the pioneering research and development done at Probiodrug particularly in Alzheimer’s disease. I believe this approach has great potential to deliver effective treatment options to patients in this debilitating disease where so many compounds have failed,” added Kumar Srinivasan.
Dr Srinivasan will be responsible for Probiodrug’s global business development activities and will be based in Philadelphia, PA (USA).
About Probiodrug AG
Probiodrug is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative small molecule drugs for the treatment of neuronal and inflammatory diseases. In these areas, Probiodrug is validating new targets with the prospect of first and best in class therapeutics. The Company has a dominant position in the area of glutaminyl cyclase (QC) inhibition, an enzyme emerging with a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and various additional inflammatory conditions. In addition, the Company is pursuing further novel approaches in the area of inflammatory diseases.
Probiodrug’s core expertise is based on its long-standing, unique experience with the structure and function elucidation of enzymes, which play a central role in the maturation of hormones. The Company has pioneered the field of DP4-inhibition for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Compounds and technology patents of its DP4 (dipeptidyl peptidase 4) program in diabetes were licensed to various pharmaceutical companies. In 2004, all metabolic assets were sold to (OSI) Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The first drug based on Probiodrug`s technologies reached the market in late 2006. Proceeds of the various transactions have been reinvested to fund the novel approach for the treatment of AD.
The Company was founded in 1997 by Prof Dr Hans-Ulrich Demuth and Dr Konrad Glund. Probiodrug has raised EUR 56 mio for its QC program so far, with the last round being closed end of 2009. In 2007, the company acquired Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG; Hendrik Liebers joined the company as CFO the same year. Probiodrug is located in Halle (Saale), Germany, and operates a subsidiary in Martinsried/Munich, Germany. For more information, please visit www.probiodrug.de.
Company Contact:
Dr Konrad Glund
CEO
Probiodrug AG
Weinbergweg 22
D-06120 Halle/ Saale
Germany
Tel.: +49 345 55599-00
Fax: +49 345 55599-01
Mail: konrad.glund@probiodrug.de
Media Contact:
Dr Ludger Wess
Managing Partner
akampion
Saseler Loge 6b
D-22393 Hamburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 40 88 16 59 64
Fax: +49 40 88 16 59 65
Mail: ludger@akampion.com