Internationally recognized expert brings over 15 years of experience in drug development and commercialisation to treat cardiovascular disease
Toulouse (France) and Ann Arbor (United States), 22 November 2011 – Cerenis Therapeutics (‘Cerenis’), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel high-density lipoprotein (‘HDL’) therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, today announced the appointment of John F. Paolini, MD, PhD, FACC as Chief Medical Officer.
Dr Paolini will be responsible for the strategic planning and execution of the clinical trials for Cerenis’ portfolio of novel cardiovascular therapies and, most importantly, Cerenis’ lead product,CER-001, a pre-beta HDL mimetic currently in Phase II clinical trials for patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Dr. Paolini has more than 15 years of clinical and research experience in cardiovascular disease, the last decade being focused on clinical development in the pharmaceutical industry: notably, at Merck & Co., Inc he led development programs of novel therapies for dislipidemic patients (Tredaptive® the Nicotinic acid/laropripant combination and Vytorin®/Inegy® the Ezetimibe/Simvastatin combination tablet), and at Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, he led the clinical development program for a novel anticoagulant agent for patients with atrial fibrillation (Xarelto,® the direct factor Xa inhibitor, rivaroxaban). He is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and has served as a Clinical Associate in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Paolini has been involved in the publication of over fifty abstracts and scientific papers.
Dr. Paolini said, “I am impressed by the progress of the portfolio developed by Cerenis and the scientific excellence of its teams. Cerenis is a leader in the discovery ofnovel HDL therapies, a new approach to the treatment of cardiovascular disease, which is a primary cause of death and disability worldwide. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute my passion for cardiovascular research and my experience in clinical development to the future success of Cerenis. Our goal is bring these potential ground-breaking new therapies to patients.”
“The appointment of Dr. Paolini comes at a crucial time in our development, with our lead drug candidate, CER-001 in Phase II; this product addresses a significant unmet medical need and represents a multibillion dollar opportunity,” said Jean-Louis Dasseux, CEO of Cerenis. “Dr Paolini has had an exceptional career in the pharmaceutical industry, having held senior positions at companies such as Merck & Co and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. His role will be to drive the clinical development of our HDL programmes and we are confident that his expertise in the field of cardiovascular disease will enable us to achieve our regulatory milestones.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About Cerenis Therapeutics
Cerenis Therapeutics is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel HDL therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. HDL is the primary facilitator of the reverse lipid transport, or RLT, pathway by which excess cholesterol is removed from arteries and is transported to the liver for elimination from the body. Cerenis is developing a portfolio of HDL therapies, including HDL mimetics for the rapid regression of atherosclerotic plaque in high-risk patients, and HDL elevators for patients with low HDL. Cerenis is well positioned to become the leader in the HDL therapeutic market with a broad portfolio of programs in development.
Since its inception in 2005, the company raised 117 M€ in equity with top tier investors: Sofinnova Partners, HealthCap, Alta Partners, EDF Ventures, Daiwa Corporate Investment, TVM Capital, Orbimed, IRDI/IXO Private Equity and the FSI (Fund for Strategic Investment). 10,7M€ were also provided by OSEO, the French agency for innovation, to support the development of CER-001.
About CER-001
CER-001, a complex of recombinant human ApoA-I and phospholipids, isbeing developed for the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome.CER-001 is designed to mimic pre-beta HDL, the “good” cholesterol, to promote the removal of excess cholesterol and other lipids from artery walls and enhance reverse lipid transport.