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Lux Biosciences Appoints to
Board of
Directors David Guyer,
SVLS Venture Partner and Former CEO of Eyetech
JERSEY CITY,
N.J.--July 11, 2006 — Lux Biosciences, Inc., a privately held
biotechnology company specialized in the field of ophthalmic diseases, today
announced the appointment of David R. Guyer, MD, venture partner, SV Life
Sciences Advisers, to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Guyer joined SV Life Sciences Advisers in May 2006. Previously, he was
co-founder (in 2000) and CEO of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, a developer of
biotherapeutics to treat eye diseases. He led the company during its entire
venture life-cycle, through several rounds of private and public financing,
to a successful launch of the first anti-angiogenic treatment for macular
degeneration, and ultimately, to its acquisition by OSI Pharmaceuticals in
November 2005.
"We are delighted to welcome David to the board," said Ulrich Grau, PhD,
president and CEO of Lux Biosciences. "With his business experience leading
Eyetech to success, and his distinguished academic career in ophthalmology,
he brings a very rare combination of expertise, experience and savvy to Lux
Biosciences. Furthermore, Lux will greatly benefit from his broad networks
in the medical, regulatory and business communities."
Dr. Guyer's tenure at Eyetech included closing private financing rounds
totaling approximately $170 million, completing a $157 million initial
public offering and a secondary financing. The company
developed and gained regulatory approval for Macugen(TM) (pegaptanib sodium
injection), the first approved VEGF-inhibitor to treat macular degeneration,
which Eyetech partnered with Pfizer in a deal valued at over $750 million.
Macugen(TM) achieved net sales of $184 million in its launch year, putting
it in the top 8% of recorded pharmaceutical product launches. In 2005, OSI
Pharmaceuticals acquired Eyetech in a deal valued at $935 million.
Before founding Eyetech, Dr. Guyer was professor and chairman of the
department of ophthalmology at the NYU School of Medicine. Author of over
100 original publications as well as textbooks, Dr. Guyer is an
international authority on macular diseases, particularly the use of anti-angiogenic
drugs for treating AMD and DME. He was the study co-chairman of the
Pharmacological Therapy for Macular Degeneration Study Group, a 45-center
worldwide team of retinal specialists studying drug therapy for AMD that
performed the first Phase III study of an AMD drug. Dr. Guyer was an
ophthalmology resident at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital
and underwent fellowship training in retinal surgery at the Massachusetts
Eye and Ear Infirmary, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where
he was a Heed-Knapp Fellow. He received his MD from the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine and his undergraduate degree from Yale
College.
"I'm honored to join the Lux board, as I like the Lux business model, the
development pipeline and the management team, and believe we can create
significant value here," commented Dr. Guyer. "Eyetech
was pioneering the treatment of AMD with a novel, anti-angiogenic approach,
and Lux Biosciences is focused on immune-mediated and inflammatory
mechanisms, modulation of which could prove useful for several ophthalmic
diseases and represent another, complementary approach to AMD, supported by
more recent and exciting scientific evidence."
About
Lux Biosciences
Lux Biosciences is a
privately held biotechnology company dedicated to the identification,
optimization, development and commercialization of products for the
treatment of ophthalmic
diseases. The company's business strategy is characterized by:
-- A focus on compounds
already marketed or with clinical proof of concept in non-ophthalmic
indications that Lux will develop as unique, targeted therapies for
corresponding ophthalmic
diseases, with potentially greater efficacy and safety than existing
treatments.
-- A clinical-stage
portfolio of projects including a next-generation calcineurin inhibitor that
has potential in several ophthalmic diseases and, as such, represents a
pipeline of product opportunities. The initial one of these is planned to
enter pivotal clinical testing by early 2007, and - if successful - Lux
expects it will reach the market in 2009.
This strategy is being
implemented by an experienced, execution-oriented management team that
combines a history of achievement in drug development and commercialization
with deep
insight and scientific expertise in immunology and ophthalmology. More
information on Lux Biosciences can be found at
www.luxbio.com.
CONTACTS:
Lux Biosciences
Ulrich Grau, Ph.D., 917-518-2875
ulrich.grau@luxbio.com
or
Kureczka/Martin Associates
Joan E. Kureczka, 415-821-2413
Jkureczka@comcast.net
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