Dyax Announces the Appointment of Tess Schmalbach, M.D., Ph.D. As Senior Vice President of Clinical and Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer
Dyax Corp. (Nasdaq:DYAX) today announced that Tess Schmalbach, M.D., Ph.D. has joined the Company as Senior Vice President of Clinical and Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Schmalbach joins Dyax’s senior management team and she will be responsible for overseeing all of the Company’s clinical and medical affairs.
Prior to joining Dyax, Dr. Schmalbach was Vice President, Clinical Development for Coley Pharmaceutical Group. From 1996 to 2003, Dr. Schmalbach held various positions at Averion Inc., including Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Schmalbach is board certified in Clinical Pharmacology. She received her B.S. in biology and chemistry from Dickinson College, her M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Thomas Beck, Executive Vice President, Business and Product Development of Dyax stated, “I’m very pleased to welcome Dr. Schmalbach to Dyax. She has an extensive understanding of the clinical standards and operational strategy needed to successfully develop biological products in a variety of therapeutic areas. Dr. Schmalbach’s management background and research experience will strengthen our clinical development efforts, and will be particularly valuable as we prepare to start our pivotal Phase III trial for DX-88 in HAE, move our CABG program forward and advance our promising new oncology lead, DX-2240.”
About Dyax
Dyax Corp. is focused on advancing novel biotherapeutics for unmet medical needs, with an emphasis on cancer and inflammatory indications. Dyax utilizes its proprietary drug discovery technology to identify antibody, small protein and peptide compounds for clinical development.
DX-88 is a recombinant small protein that is currently in clinical trials for its therapeutic potential in two separate indications. In its joint venture with Genzyme Corporation, Dyax has successfully completed two Phase II trials of DX-88 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE). A third Phase II trial is ongoing, and a pivotal Phase III trial is planned before year end. Independently, Dyax has successfully completed a Phase I/II trial of DX-88 for the prevention of blood loss during heart surgery (CABG procedures) and is in partnering discussions for further development of DX-88 in this indication. A second Dyax compound, DX-890, is being developed by Debiopharm S.A., which has completed two Phase IIa trials and is now conducting a Phase IIb trial of DX-890 in Europe for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Both compounds have orphan drug designation in the US and EU, and DX-88 also has Fast Track designation in the US for the treatment of HAE.
Dyax identified DX-88 and other compounds in its pipeline using Dyax’s patented phage display technology, which rapidly selects compounds that bind with high affinity and specificity to therapeutic targets. Dyax leverages its technology broadly with over 75 revenue generating licenses and collaborations for therapeutic discovery, as well as in non-core areas such as affinity separations, diagnostic imaging, and research reagents.
Dyax Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Dyax Corp., including statements regarding its results of operations, cash resources, antibody discovery technology, clinical trials of DX-88 and DX-2240. Statements that are not historical facts are based on Dyax’s current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates, forecasts and projections for Dyax and the industry and markets in which Dyax competes. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements because of uncertainties associated with various activities and aspects of Dyax’s business, including the timing and results of clinical trials, regulatory review of Dyax’s products, and other risk factors described or referred to in Dyax’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dyax cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Dyax undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.
Dyax and the Dyax logo are the registered trademarks of Dyax Corp.