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Tranzyme
Pharma Appoints Industry Veteran as Senior Vice President of
Research and Preclinical Development
Dr. Helmut Thomas to Lead Company’s R &D
Programs
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and
SHERBROOKE, Québec (June 21, 2006) -Tranzyme Pharma, a leading
biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule
therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) and
metabolic diseases, announced today the appointment of Helmut
Thomas, Ph.D., DABT, as the Company’s Senior Vice President of
Research and Preclinical Development. In this position, he will
assume primary responsibility for Tranzyme’s discovery research
and early stage development efforts.
Dr. Thomas is a highly accomplished biochemist and toxicologist
with an extensive and productive career in drug discovery and
development. He began his career with CIBA-GEIGY in Basel,
Switzerland in 1990 and became the Head of Preclinical Safety
and Toxicology at CIBA-GEIGY Pharmaceuticals UK in 1994.
Following the merger with Sandoz in 1997, Dr. Thomas spent the
next eight years with Novartis Pharma, where he held several
top-level management positions in Europe and the U.S.,
culminating in his appointment as Executive Director, Global
Project Manager and Leader of the PRIDE (Proof of Research In
Development) Team Oncology in East Hanover, NJ. While at
Novartis, he directed the preclinical development of more than
25 drug candidates, including such important marketed drugs as
Diovan® for hypertension and Gleevec® for chronic myeloid
leukemia. He joins Tranzyme from LymphoSign Inc., where he has
served as Vice President, Research and Development since 2004.
Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and organic
chemistry from the University of Hannover, Germany. He is an
author of over 130 scientific articles, book chapters and
abstracts as well as a co-inventor on numerous patents.
“We are delighted to have someone of Dr. Thomas’s caliber on
board,” said Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D., President and CEO of Tranzyme
Pharma. “His extensive experience in preclinical and early
clinical development will be valuable in rapidly advancing our
pipeline of potential product candidates to proof-of-concept.”
“After having just completed their first Phase I trial, this is
a very exciting time for me to join Tranzyme Pharma,” added Dr.
Thomas. “The potential of the Company’s unique and innovative
chemistry technology, which has already proven its ability to
generate multiple first-in-class products, was a major
attraction. I look forward to leveraging this technology to
quickly identify additional drug candidates.”
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