– SWITZERLAND, Geneva – Calypso Biotech SA is a Swiss pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies to treat severe autoimmune gastro-intestinal diseases. The company was incorporated in Geneva in 2013 as a spin-off of Merck-Serono and its portfolio includes two preclinical programs for Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease and Refractory Celiac Disease, respectively. Calypso Biotech intends to bring both antibody drugs to clinical stage by early 2016 and demonstrate signs of efficacy and safety in patients by 2017.
In order to strengthen its value proposition and consolidate its development strategy, Calypso Biotech announces today the appointment of:
Alexandre P. LeBeaut, MD, as Independent Director of its Board of Directors. Dr. LeBeaut brings significant medical and scientific knowledge to Calypso Biotech SA, with more than 20 years of broad experience working with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, especially in gastroenterology. He is currently Senior Vice-President, Head of Global Drug Development with IPSEN Biopharmaceuticals (NJ, USA). He has previously held senior leadership medical responsibilities with Bluebird bio (Cambridge, MA), Axcan Pharmaceuticals (Quebec, Canada and Bridgewater, NJ), Sanofi (Bridgewater, NJ), Novartis Pharmaceuticals (East Hanover, NJ and Basel, Switzerland) and Schering-Plough Research Institute (Kenilworth, NJ). Dr. LeBeaut earned his MD and University Diploma in AIDS & other retroviruses infections from the University of Paris VII and received a post graduate diploma specialized in pediatrics from the University of Paris V.
Brian Feagan, MD, as Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Feagan is Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at University of Western Ontario, Canada and Director of Clinical Trials at the Robarts Research Institute. He is a leading authority in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prof. Feagan’s research efforts focus on the design and implementation of randomized controlled clinical trials and he was the lead investigator on numerous large-scale pivotal trials for new IBD treatments. His research is very well published in many front ranked peer-reviewed medical journals, including 10 original articles in New England Journal of Medicine.
Christophe Cellier, MD, PhD, as Member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Cellier is Professor of Gastroenterology, René Descartes University, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, European Georges Pompidou Hospital, and member of INSERM U 989 Research Unit in Intestinal Immunology, Paris, France. He has been involved in celiac disease clinical and translational research for 20 years and is the Coordinator of the French national network for patients with malignant complications (refractory sprue and lymphoma). He was President of the French Digestive Endoscopy Society (SFED) and currently is President of the French Celiac Disease Study Group (GERMC). He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on celiac disease.
Peter HR Green, MD, as Member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Green is the Director of The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and has broad clinical and academic expertise in celiac disease. He is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and Attending Physician at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Green received his medical degree from University of Sydney, Australia. After completing his Residency and GI fellowship in Sydney he became a Research fellow at Harvard Medical School and in the Gastroenterology Department at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He has received numerous awards and authored more than 150 original peer-reviewed articles.
Gerhard Rogler, MD, PhD, as Member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Rogler is full Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Zürich University Hospital, Switzerland. Prof. Rogler research interests focus on translational research to better understand unmet needs in the field of IBD, especially intestinal stricture and fistula formation. His group has developed new models for intestinal fibrosis and achieved a completely new understanding of fistula pathophysiology. Prof. Rogler is principal investigator of the Swiss IBD cohort study, a nationwide cohort project currently supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. He has authored about 200 original peer-reviewed articles.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alex LeBeaut to our Board of Directors,” said Alain Vicari, Chief Executive Officer of Calypso Biotech. “Alex brings extensive global development experience in clinical development, regulatory strategy and portfolio management to the team as well a solid global network in gastroenterology. His support will be critical to elaborate the best strategy as we advance our programs towards the clinic and beyond.”
“We are honoured to welcome Professors Brian Feagan, Christophe Cellier, Peter Green and Gerhard Rogler, highly skilled and experienced clinicians, to our Scientific Advisor Board” said Yolande Chvatchko, Chief Scientific Officer of Calypso Biotech. “Their track record of success in translational science is exemplary and reflects their status as world-class gastroenterologists. They will provide Calypso Biotech with extremely valuable expertise on how to charter the best clinical path to meet patient needs and regulatory requirements in Europe and North America, in the field of IBD and celiac disease”.
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