SAN DIEGO, Aug. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Halozyme
Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO), a biotechnology company
developing novel oncology and drug-delivery therapies, today named
Michael J. LaBarre, Ph.D. as chief
scientific officer, succeeding Dr. Michael
Shepard, who was appointed a Research Fellow for the
company.
The move broadens Dr. LaBarre's responsibilities to include
research and development of early pipeline assets, in addition to
his role managing product development and ENHANZE™ platform
partnerships.
"Mike has deep experience characterizing early stage assets,
making him an ideal leader for our research organization as we
invest further in our promising pipeline," said Dr. Helen Torley, president and chief executive
officer. "We have a full agenda for the second half of 2015 as we
broaden the study of our investigational new drug PEGPH20 in
multiple tumor types and prepare for our pivotal phase 3 study in
pancreatic cancer patients. I am pleased to have a proven leader of
Mike's caliber to guide our research efforts as we invest for
future growth."
Dr. LaBarre's career comprises more than 2 decades of biotech
drug discovery and development experience, including work on
successful approvals of commercial therapies such as RITUXAN™.
Prior to joining Halozyme in 2008, he served as vice president,
product development at Paramount BioSciences LLC; director,
analytical and protein biochemistry, discovery research at Biogen
Idec; and director analytical and formulation sciences, research
and development at IDEC Pharmaceuticals. He earned his B.S. in
Chemistry from Southampton College
of Long Island University and Ph.D. in
Bioinorganic Chemistry from the University of
Arizona.
About PEGPH20
PEGPH20 (PEGylated recombinant human hyaluronidase) targets the
degradation of hyaluronan (HA), a chain of natural sugars that can
accumulate around cancer cells, inhibiting other therapies. By
degrading HA, PEGPH20 may increase the access of co-administered
chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents.
FDA granted orphan drug designation to PEGPH20 for treatment of
pancreatic cancer and fast track for PEGPH20 in combination with
gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic
pancreatic cancer. Additionally, the European Commission, acting on
the recommendation from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products
of the European Medicines Agency, designated investigational drug
PEGPH20 an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of pancreatic
cancer.
About Halozyme
Halozyme Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on
developing and commercializing novel oncology therapies that target
the tumor microenvironment. Halozyme's lead proprietary program,
investigational drug PEGPH20, applies a unique approach to
targeting solid tumors, allowing increased access of
co-administered cancer drug therapies to the tumor. PEGPH20 is
currently in development for metastatic pancreatic cancer,
non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic breast cancer and has
potential across additional cancers in combination with different
types of cancer therapies. In addition to its proprietary product
portfolio, Halozyme has established value-driving partnerships with
leading pharmaceutical companies including Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer,
Janssen and AbbVie for its drug delivery platform, ENHANZE™, which
enables biologics and small molecule compounds that are currently
administered intravenously to be delivered subcutaneously. Halozyme
is headquartered in San Diego. For
more information visit www.halozyme.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
In addition to historical information, the statements set forth
above include forward-looking statements (including, without
limitation, statements concerning the possible activity, benefits
and attributes of PEGPH20, the possible method of action of
PEGPH20, its potential application to improve cancer therapies and
statements concerning future actions relating to the development of
PEGPH20) that involve risk and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are
typically, but not always, identified through use of the words
"believe," "enable," "may," "will," "could," "intends," "estimate,"
"anticipate," "plan," "predict," "probable," "potential,"
"possible," "should," "continue," and other words of similar
meaning. Actual results could differ materially from the
expectations contained in forward-looking statements as a result of
several factors, including unexpected expenditures and costs,
unexpected results or delays in development and regulatory review,
regulatory approval requirements, unexpected adverse events and
competitive conditions. These and other factors that may result in
differences are discussed in greater detail in the Company's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on August 10,
2015.
Contacts:
Schond Greenway
Halozyme Therapeutics
858-704-8352
ir@halozyme.com
Jim Mazzola
Halozyme Therapeutics
858-704-8122
ir@halozyme.com
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SOURCE Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.