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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
© 2008 Lux
Biosciences, Inc. All rights reserved.
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