Seaside Therapeutics Recruits Industry Veterans To Accelerate Development Of Candidates For Autism And Fragile X Syndrome

Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Mental Health
Article Date: 16 Oct 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Seaside Therapeutics LLC announced the addition of three highly experienced industry executives to the Company's senior management team-Daniel E. Geffken as Chief Operating Officer, John C. Amedio, Jr., Ph.D., as Vice President, Manufacturing and Process Development and W. Roger Rush, Ph.D., as Vice President, Preclinical Development.

"Dan, John and Roger all bring a depth of valuable experience that directly and immediately supports the acceleration of Seaside's pipeline and research programs in disorders of brain development," said Randall L. Carpenter, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaside Therapeutics. "They join an already exceptional team that is singularly focused on making a fundamental difference in the lives of individuals and their families affected by disorders such as Fragile X Syndrome and autism. With our core team in place and our recently announced $30 million financing, we are well positioned to advance our clinical programs in autism and Fragile X Syndrome, while also expanding our pipeline by translating breakthrough discoveries in neurobiology into novel therapeutics."

Mr. Geffken joins Seaside Therapeutics with over twenty-five years of financial and operational management experience, primarily in the life sciences industry. He has been the chief financial officer of seven companies, ranging from venture-backed start-ups to publicly-held corporations. Prior to Seaside, Mr. Geffken was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Codon Devices. He has also played a critical role in building infrastructure and leading fundraising, operations and investor relations in executive level positions at several high-growth life science companies, including Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (later acquired by Shire plc), CytoTherapeutics, Inc. and Omnisonics Medical Technologies, Inc. Dr. Amedio has twenty years of experience covering all aspects of chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC). His extensive CMC experience and broad analytical skill-set in both process and formulation development will be critical for Seaside as the Company moves to manufacturing scale-up in anticipation of late stage clinical trials and commercialization for its lead programs. He joins Seaside from ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., where he was Vice President, Manufacturing and Process Development. Prior to this position, Dr. Amedio held executive and senior level positions at EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sandoz Research Institute (currently Novartis Pharmaceuticals).

Dr. Rush brings thirty years of international experience in pharmaceutical research and development to Seaside. His major career focus has been on preclinical research and development, particularly the transition of discovery research candidates into clinical development where he has provided drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics and preclinical drug safety evaluation expertise. Throughout his career he has contributed to numerous drug registration dossiers including Investigational New Drug Applications, Clinical Trial Authorizations, New Drug Applications and Marketing Authorization Applications. He joins Seaside Therapeutics from Wolfe Laboratories, Inc., where he was Vice President, Preclinical Development. His prior experience also includes senior management positions at Critical Therapeutics, Inc., Roche Palo Alto LLC, Scotia Pharmaceuticals (acquired by QuantaNova Ltd) and Quintiles Scotland Ltd.

Source
Seaside Therapeutics

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