– CANADA, British Columbia – Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH, TSX: AUP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the global immunology market, today announced it has appointed Dr. Daniel Billen to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Billen’s appointment is effective April 29, 2019, concurrent with the previously announced appointment of Mr. Peter Greenleaf as Chief Executive Officer and elevation of Dr. George Milne to Chairman of the Board.
“On behalf of the entire organization, it is a pleasure to welcome Daniel onto Aurinia’s Board of Directors. Throughout his career, Daniel has led the international growth of novel biopharmaceutical treatments for patients with debilitating kidney and inflammatory diseases, and we look forward to his strategic insight and guidance with the ongoing development of voclosporin,” commented Dr. George Milne, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
About Dr. Daniel Billen
Dr. Billen has more than four decades of experience leading the commercialization of pharmaceutical and biotech products in North America and Europe. Prior to his retirement, Dr. Billen served as Vice President and General Manager, Inflammation and Nephrology at Amgen, from 2011 until 2018. Prior to that, Dr. Billen was General Manager, Amgen Canada, from 1991 until 2011. Dr. Billen previously served in roles of escalating responsibility at Janssen from 1979 until 1991. Dr. Billen received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Louvain, Belgium.
“Voclosporin represents a potentially significant advancement for patients with life-threatening kidney diseases, such as lupus nephritis,” commented Dr. Billen. “After years of admiring Aurinia’s development of voclosporin, it is an honor to now be joining the Board of Directors and helping to guide this exciting program toward commercialization.”
About Aurinia
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies to treat targeted patient populations that are impacted by serious diseases with a high unmet medical need. The Company is currently developing voclosporin, an investigational drug, for the potential treatment of LN, FSGS, and DES. The Company is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia and focuses its development efforts globally.
For more information: https://www.auriniapharma.com
About Voclosporin
Voclosporin, an investigational drug, is a novel and potentially best-in-class calcineurin inhibitor with clinical data in over 2,400 patients across indications. Voclosporin is an immunosuppressant, with a synergistic and dual mechanism of action. By inhibiting calcineurin, voclosporin blocks IL-2 expression and T-cell mediated immune responses and stabilizes the podocyte in the kidney. It has been shown to have a more predictable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationship, an increase in potency, and an improved metabolic profile compared to legacy CNIs. Aurinia anticipates that upon regulatory approval, patent protection for voclosporin will be extended in the United States and certain other major markets, including Europe and Japan, until at least October 2027 under the Hatch-Waxman Act and comparable laws in other countries and until April 2028 with anticipated pediatric extension. Further, the new Notice of Allowance is expected to result in the issuance of a U.S. patent with a term extending to December 2037. If the FDA approves the use of voclosporin for LN and the label for such use follows the dosing protocol under the Notice of Allowance, the issuance of this patent will expand the scope of intellectual property protection for voclosporin to December 2037.
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