Last checked at 30 May 2018 07:00
Destiny Pharma plc
("Destiny Pharma" or "the Company")
Destiny Pharma Establishes Scientific Advisory Board
Destiny Pharma appoints five leading experts in infection and hospital care to guide the strategy for the development of its novel anti-microbial drug platform
Brighton, United Kingdom - 30 May 2018 - Destiny Pharma (AIM: DEST), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel anti-microbial drugs, which address the global problem of anti-microbial resistance (AMR), today announces the formation of a new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to provide expert, independent analysis of the Company's research and clinical development plans and to help in developing clinical strategies for its unique XF Platform.
David Roblin, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, commented:
"There is an urgent global need for new antimicrobials to meet the challenge of rising levels of drug-resistant infections. Over the past two decades there has been a lack of innovation in developing novel antibiotic classes which is central to the issue of drug-resistant infections. Destiny Pharma's XF series of molecules provide the potential for such innovation and I look forward to advising the Destiny Pharma team to ensure we maximise the opportunity in the portfolio and speed new medicines to patients."
Neil Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Destiny Pharma, added:
"We are excited to announce the formation of such a strong Scientific Advisory Board of recognised key opinion leaders in the fields of infection and hospital care. Their extensive insight and experience will be invaluable as we finalise plans for the development of our lead programme, XF-73, and our earlier pipeline."
The members of the Scientific Advisory Board are:
David Roblin MD FRCP FFPM FMedSci - SAB Chair
Professor David Roblin is President of Research and Development at Summit Therapeutics. David served as a Non-executive Director on the Destiny Pharma Ltd Board of Directors from 2011 to May 2017.
Previously he was Chief Operating Officer and Director of Scientific Translation at the Francis Crick Institute in London from 2014 to 2017 and prior to that, Head of Research, Site Director and Chief Medical Officer for Europe R&D at Pfizer Inc. from 2008 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999, he was Head of Therapy Area for Anti-infectives at Bayer AG. Before entering the life sciences industry, Professor Roblin practised medicine for five years.
Through his career David has remained active in anti-infective R&D and he had key roles in the development of azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, moxiflxacin, celzentry and now ridinilazole. Of note, he was a founder and director of the Innovative Medicines Initiative, which championed precompetitive research including into antibiotics.
David has a first-class degree in biochemistry from University of London and later qualified in medicine from St George's Hospital. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and was recently elected as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is an honorary Professor of Medicine at Swansea University, Professor of Translational Medicine at St George's and Chair of Scientific Translation at the Francis Crick Institute.
Richard A. Proctor, M.D.
Richard A. Proctor, MD is the Professor Emeritus of Department of Medical Microbiology/Immunology and Professor Emeritus of Department of Medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Madison, Wisconsin. He also served as Global Director of Infectious Diseases for Merck Research for Antibiotics and Antifungals from 2008 to 2010.
While his most recent work has focused upon many aspects of staphylococcal infections, he has spent more than two decades studying macrophage activation, basic immunology, and sepsis. Professor Proctor is a leading expert on bacterial pathogenesis of infectious disease.
He has been the Chairman of Medical Advisory Board at MicroPhage, Inc. Member of Scientific Advisory Boards for ConjuGon Inc., AmebaGon, BioSynexus, Destiny Pharma, Inhibitex Inc., and Telephus Medical LLC.
He serves on several panels addressing emerging antibiotic resistance and served as President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He was also a founding member of the International Endotoxin Society and the co-founder of the Staphylococcal Diseases Gordon conference; served as President and counsellor Alexander von Humboldt Association of America; recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Prize and the Harold P. Rausch Translational Research Award; recipient of the Commanding Officer's Award for Research while attached to Walter Reed.
Vance Garrison Fowler Jr., MD, MHS
Professor Vance Fowler is a clinician scientist focused on clinical and translational research involving antibiotic-resistant bacteria. He is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at Duke University Medical Center and for two decades he has focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)
Professor Fowler created the S. aureus Bacteraemia Group (SABG), a registry of clinical data, bacterial isolates, and patient DNA from ~2000 patients with S. aureus bacteraemia. Using this resource, he addressed fundamental clinical questions involving S. aureus bacteraemia, including the risk of infectious complications and the importance of transesophageal echocardiography and the impact of bacterial characteristics on clinical outcome. Most recently, he is evaluating the role of host genetic characteristics in determining infection severity using a murine sepsis model and the patient DNA from the SABG cohort.
He co-founded the International Collaboration on Endocarditis, a prospective cohort of over 3000 patients from 28 countries with endocarditis. Using this resource, he made the critical observation that S. aureus is now the most common cause of endocarditis throughout much of the world. He has led important clinical trials testing new therapies for S. aureus bacteraemia, including a randomized, controlled trial comparing daptomycin to standard therapy.
Professor Fowler is currently the Corresponding Principal Investigator (PI) of the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG), a $62 million NIH grant facilitated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute that develops, designs, implements, and manages a clinical research agenda to increase the ability to combat antibacterial resistance (AR). The ARLG, launched in 2013 with funding from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), aims to advance research by building transformational trials that will change clinical practice and reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistance.
Leonard Alan Mermel, D.O., Sc.M., A.M. (Hon.), FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA
Dr Mermel was a Technical Expert Panel Member of the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System, US Dept. of Health and Human Services. He was the 2005 President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the 2014 SHEA Mentor Scholar Award recipient which honours individuals who are recognized for their dedication and excellence in mentoring trainees in infection prevention and control.
He is the 2016 recipient of The Milton W. Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award from the Rhode Island Hospital Medical Staff Association. He is a past recipient of the Ralph A. Kinsella, Sr. Memorial Tribute Award from St. Louis University Hospitals for outstanding qualities of work, leadership, and ability as a house staff officer, the SHEA Young Investigator Award, the Brown Medical School Department of Medicine Chairman's Award for Outstanding Teaching, Brown Medical School Dean's Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Brown Medical School Certificate of Recognition for Exemplary Teaching.
Dr Mermel has co-authored US guidelines dealing with prevention and management of intravascular catheter infections and he has authored or co-authored over 300 articles, textbook chapters, and abstracts dealing with infection control and infectious diseases. Dr Mermel and Dr David Classen together developed the idea for the Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals which is now a standard guidance used in the United States and the basis for some of the National Patient Safety Goals. He is Co-Course Director of the Annual Fellows Course in Hospital Epidemiology & Infection Control. He has lectured at the National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine, NASA Johnson Space Center, and internationally on infectious disease issues. His research interest is the prevention of healthcare-associated infections.
Glenn J.R. Whitman, M.D.
Dr Glenn Whitman is a Professor of Surgery, in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the Director of the CVSICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and has recently stepped down as the Director of Cardiac Transplantation, a position he held for the past 7 years. He received his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, his cardiothoracic training at the University of Colorado, and has been in practice for more than 30 years.
In his role overseeing quality within the cardiac division at Hopkins, he has published on multiple critical care issues including early extubation postoperatively, blood utilization, acute kidney injury, and in an area relevant to Destiny Pharma, postoperative infections.
Dr Whitman is the current Chair of the Workforce on Critical Care within the Society of Thoracic Surgery and is recognised internationally as an expert on postoperative care of the cardiac surgery patient.
For further information, please contact:
Destiny Pharma plc
Neil Clark, CEO
Simon Sacerdoti, CFO
pressoffice@destinypharma.com
+44 (0)1273 704 440
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destinypharma@fticonsulting.com
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
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Philip Davies / Will Goode, Corporate Finance
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+44 (0)20 7894 7000
finnCap Ltd (Joint Broker)
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+44 (0)20 7220 0500
About Destiny Pharma
Destiny Pharma is an established, clinical stage, innovative biotechnology company focused on the development of novel medicines that represent a new approach to the treatment of infectious disease. These potential new medicines are being developed to address the need for new drugs for the prevention and treatment of life-threatening infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as "superbugs". Tackling anti-microbial resistance has become a global imperative recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations, as well as the G7 and the G20 countries. For further information, please visit https://www.destinypharma.com