Novira Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., F.A.C.P., as Chair of Scientific Advisory Board
Published: Aug 26, 2014 8:00 a.m. ET
DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Novira Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for curative treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, today announced that Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., F.A.C.P., was appointed the Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). In this role he will also function as a Senior Advisor to the Company.
"We are thrilled to have Roger join our SAB as Chair," said Christian Schade, Chief Executive Officer at Novira. "Roger brings a wealth of pharma and biotech experience in drug development which will be invaluable to Novira as we continue to advance NVR-1221, our novel HBV core inhibitor program, currently in clinical development for chronic HBV infection."
Dr. Pomerantz added, "I very much look forward to working with the Novira team and members of the SAB as they continue to develop this very important compound. NVR-1221 leads a new class of antiviral agents that may offer a curative approach to patients with chronic HBV infection."
Dr. Pomerantz is President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Seres Health and was Senior Vice President and Worldwide Head of Licensing & Acquisitions at Merck & Co., Inc. where he oversaw all licensing and acquisitions at Merck Research Laboratories. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Global Franchise Head of Infectious Diseases at Merck. Prior to joining Merck, Roger was Global Head of Infectious Diseases for Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals, responsible for all anti-infective agents worldwide. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 2005 as President of Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has been responsible for leading the development of 8 approved drugs for HIV, HCV and MDR-TB. Previously, Roger received his B.A. in Biochemistry at the Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency training, and his subspecialty clinical and research training in Infectious Diseases and Virology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (M.G.H.) of the Harvard Medical School and was selected and served as the Chief Medical Resident at M.G.H. His post-doctoral research training in Molecular Retrovirology was obtained at both the Harvard Medical School and the Whitehead Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Roger was Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Chief of Infectious Diseases, and the Founding Director and Chair of the Institute for Human Virology and Biodefense at the Thomas Jefferson University and Medical School.
About NVR-1221
NVR-1221 is a small molecule, direct-acting antiviral, for oral administration in patients with Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) that inhibits the HBV core or capsid protein. HBV core is a novel and promising drug target with multiple activities required for viral replication and persistence. Inhibition of HBV core protein function by NVR-1221 offers the potential for a more efficient suppression of the virus leading to improved durable viral suppression and functional cure rates.
NVR-1221 is in Phase 1a clinical studies in New Zealand following successful completion of the Clinical Trial Application (CTA) regulatory process. The Phase 1a clinical study will investigate the dose-related safety/tolerance and pharmacokinetics (PK) of NVR-1221 in approximately 40 healthy volunteers. Upon completion and satisfactory outcome of the Phase 1a clinical study, Novira will commence a Phase 1b clinical study to test the safety, PK and initial antiviral activity of NVR-1221 in patients with chronic HBV infection. 作者: StephenW 时间: 2014-8-27 16:51