Day: December 4, 2023

Expanded strategic and operational leadership positions Zenas for growth as obexelimab advances in late-stage clinical trials for multiple potential I&I indications

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Zenas BioPharma, a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of inflammation and immunology (I&I) directed therapies, today announced the appointment of Jennifer Fox as its Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer and Tanya Fischer, M.D., Ph. D as Head of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tanya and Jen to our executive team,” said Lonnie Moulder, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zenas BioPharma. “Tanya is a deeply experienced physician-scientist leader and Jen is a seasoned healthcare finance and corporate development leader. With their decades of industry leadership experience, they will each be an invaluable addition to Zenas as we head into our next phase of growth, advancing multiple global programs in late-stage clinical development with a goal to deliver differentiated I&I directed therapies to patients in need around the world.”

Ms. Fox is an experienced finance and corporate development executive with an extensive track record in corporate finance and healthcare investment banking, advising numerous private and public companies with respect to strategy, financings and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Zenas, Ms. Fox served as Chief Financial Officer at Nuvation Bio, a publicly traded biotechnology company. She previously served as a Managing Director and Co-Head of North America Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking Group at CitiGroup. Prior to CitiGroup, Ms. Fox held senior positions in investment banking at Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, Bank of America and Prudential Securities. She holds B.S. degrees in finance and marketing from Manhattan College.

Dr. Fischer is a physician-scientist with deep experience in academia and at both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, leading early and late-stage research and development programs across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology and rare diseases. Prior to joining Zenas, she served as Chief Development Officer and Head of Translational Medicine at Biohaven, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Fischer began her industry career at Bristol Myers Squibb and held R&D leadership roles of increasing responsibility at EMD-Serono, Sanofi-Genzyme and Alnylam. She is a neurologist and held appointments at Yale University School of Medicine following the completion of her Neurology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. She obtained MD and PhD degrees from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, respectively, and was awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

About Zenas BioPharma

Zenas BioPharma is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of inflammation and immunology (I&I) directed therapies for patients in need around the world. With clinical development capabilities and operations globally, Zenas is advancing a portfolio of potentially differentiated autoimmune therapeutics in areas of high unmet medical need. Our experienced leadership team and network of business partners drive operational excellence to deliver potentially transformative therapies to improve the lives of those facing autoimmune and rare diseases. For more information about Zenas BioPharma, please visit www.zenasbio.com and follow us on Twitter at @ZenasBioPharma and LinkedIn.

About Obexelimab

Obexelimab is an investigational Phase 3-stage, bifunctional, non-cytolytic, humanized monoclonal antibody that mimics the action of antigen-antibody complexes by binding CD19 and FcγRIIb to inhibit B-lineage cell activity. In several early-stage clinical studies, including in various autoimmune diseases, 198 subjects were treated with obexelimab. In these clinical studies, obexelimab demonstrated inhibition of B cell function without depleting the cells, resulting in encouraging treatment effect in patients with various autoimmune diseases. Zenas acquired exclusive worldwide rights to obexelimab from Xencor, Inc. Obexelimab is currently being studied in a global Phase 3 clinical study in patients with IgG4 Related Disease and a global Phase2/3 study in patients with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA). Clinical development of obexelimab for Multiple Sclerosis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is under evaluation.

More information on the Phase 3 (INDIGO) study for the treatment of IgG4 Related Disease is available at clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05662241. More information on the Phase 3 (SApHiAre) study for the treatment of wAIHA is available at clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05786573.

Investor and Media Contact:
Joe Farmer, President & COO
Zenas BioPharma
IR@zenasbio.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8987984

Com a expansão dessa liderança estratégica e operacional, a Zenas se posiciona para o crescimento esperado com o avanço do voltadas para inflamações e imunologia nos ensaios clínicos em estágio avançado de várias indicações potenciais de I&I

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Zenas BioPharma, uma empresa biofarmacêutica global comprometida em se tornar líder no desenvolvimento e comercialização de terapias voltadas para inflamações e imunologia (I&I), divulgou hoje a nomeação de Jennifer Fox como Diretora de Negócios e Financeira, e de Tanya Fischer, MD, Ph. D como Dirigente de P&D e Médica.

“Estamos muito contentes com a vinda de Tanya e de Jen para a nossa equipe executiva”, disse Lonnie Moulder, Fundador e Diretor Executivo da Zenas BioPharma. “Tanya é uma líder médica-cientista profundamente experiente e Jen é uma líder experiente em finanças de saúde e desenvolvimento corporativo. Com suas décadas de experiência em liderança no setor, elas serão uma adição inestimável para a Zenas na nossa próxima fase de crescimento, progresso de vários programas globais de desenvolvimento clínico em estágio avançado com o objetivo de fornecer terapias direcionadas a I&I diferenciadas para pacientes necessitados em todo o mundo.”

A Sra. Fox é uma executiva experiente em finanças e desenvolvimento corporativo com um extenso histórico em finanças corporativas e bancos de investimento em saúde, tendo assessorado inúmeras empresas públicas e privadas com estratégias, financiamentos, fusões e aquisições. Antes de ingressar na Zenas, a Sra. Fox atuou como Diretora Financeira da Nuvation Bio, uma empresa biotecnologia de capital aberto. Ela atuou como Diretora Administrativa e Co-Dirigente da North America Healthcare Corporate e do Investment Banking Group do CitiGroup. Antes do CitiGroup, a Sra. Fox ocupou cargos seniores em bancos de investimento do Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, Bank of America e Prudential Securities. Ela é formada em finanças e marketing pelo Manhattan College.

A Dra. Fischer é um médica-cientista com profunda experiência na academia e em empresas farmacêuticas e de biotecnologia, e liderança de programas de pesquisa e desenvolvimento em estágio inicial e avançado em várias áreas terapêuticas, incluindo neurologia e doenças raras. Antes de ingressar na Zenas, ela atuou como Diretora de Desenvolvimento e Dirigente de Medicina Translacional da Biohaven, uma empresa biofarmacêutica de capital aberto. A Dra. Fischer iniciou sua carreira no setor na Bristol Myers Squibb e ocupou cargos de liderança em P&D de responsabilidade crescente na EMD-Serono, Sanofi-Genzyme e Alnylam. Ela foi neurologista da Yale University School of Medicine após a conclusão da sua residência em Neurologia no Yale New Haven Hospital. Ela é formada em Medicina e fez PhD na University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School e Rutgers University, respectivamente, e recebeu o prestigioso Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Sobre a Zenas BioPharma

A Zenas BioPharma é uma empresa biofarmacêutica mundial comprometida em se tornar líder global no desenvolvimento e comercialização de terapias voltadas para inflamações e imunologia (I&I) para pacientes necessitados em todo o mundo. Com desenvolvimento clínico e operações globais, a Zenas está avançando um portfólio de terapêuticas autoimunes potencialmente diferenciadas em áreas de alta necessidade médica. Nossa experiente equipe de liderança e rede de parceiros de negócios impulsionam a excelência operacional para oferecer terapias potencialmente transformadoras para melhorar a vida das pessoas que enfrentam doenças autoimunes e raras. Para mais informação sobre a Zenas BioPharma, visite www.zenasbio.com e siga-nos no Twitter em @ZenasBioPharma e LinkedIn.

Sobre o Obexelimab

O obexelimab é um anticorpo monoclonal humanizado de Fase 3 bifuncional, não citolítico, de investigação que imita a ação dos complexos antígeno-anticorpo por ligação a CD19 e FcγRIIb para inibir a atividade das células da linhagem B. Em vários estudos clínicos em fase inicial, inclusive de diversas doenças autoimunes, 198 indivíduos foram tratados com obexelimab. Nestes estudos clínicos, o obexelimab demonstrou inibição da função das células B sem a redução das células, e um efeito encorajador no tratamento de pacientes com várias doenças autoimunes. A Zenas adquiriu direitos mundiais exclusivos do obexelimab da Xencor, Inc. O Obexelimab está sendo avaliado em um estudo clínico global de Fase 3 em pacientes com Doença Relacionada a IgG4 e em um estudo global de Fase 2/3 em pacientes com anemia hemolítica autoimune quente (wAIHA). O desenvolvimento clínico do obexelimab para Esclerose Múltipla e Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico está sob avaliação.

Mais informações sobre a Fase 3 (INDIGO) do estudo para o tratamento de Doenças Relacionadas à IgG4 estão disponíveis em clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05662241. Mais informações sobre a Fase 3 (SApHiAre) do estudo para o tratamento de wAIHA estão disponíveis em clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05786573.

Contato com Investidores e com a Mídia:
Joe Farmer, Presidente e COO
Zenas BioPharma
IR@zenasbio.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8988518

Le renforcement du leadership stratégique et opérationnel permet à Zenas de se développer et les essais cliniques en phase avancée sur l’obéxélimab progressent, pour de multiples indications potentielles dans l’I&I

WALTHAM, Massachusetts, 04 déc. 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zenas BioPharma, un laboratoire biopharmaceutique d’envergure mondiale déterminé à devenir un leader dans le développement et la commercialisation de traitements dans les domaines de l’inflammation et de l’immunologie (« I&I »), a annoncé aujourd’hui la nomination de Jennifer Fox aux postes de Chief Business Officer (directrice générale) et de Chief Financial Officer (directrice financière), ainsi que de Tanya Fischer, M.D., PhD., en tant que Head of Research and Development (directrice recherche et du développement) et Chief Medical Officer (directrice médicale).

« Nous sommes ravis d’accueillir Tanya et Jen dans notre équipe de direction », a déclaré Lonnie Moulder, fondateur et président-directeur général de Zenas BioPharma. « Tanya est médecin et scientifique, dotée d’une longue expérience, et Jen est une dirigeante chevronnée dans le domaine de la finance dans les soins de santé et du développement des entreprises. Avec leurs dizaines d’années d’expérience à des postes de direction au sein de l’industrie, elles seront toutes deux un atout inestimable pour Zenas à l’entame de notre prochaine phase de croissance, en faisant progresser de multiples programmes mondiaux en phase finale de développement clinique, avec pour objectif de fournir des traitements différenciés dans les domaines de l’I&I aux patients qui en ont besoin dans le monde entier. »

Jennifer Fox est une dirigeante expérimentée dans le domaine de la finance et du développement d’entreprise. Elle se targue d’un palmarès impressionnant en matière de finance d’entreprise et de banque d’investissement dans les soins de santé, conseillant de nombreuses entreprises privées et publiques en stratégie, financement et fusions-acquisitions. Avant de rejoindre Zenas, Jennnifer Fox a occupé le poste de Chief Financial Officer (directrice financière) chez Nuvation Bio, une société de biotechnologie cotée en Bourse. Auparavant, elle a été Managing Director (directrice générale) et Co-Head of North America Healthcare Corporate and Investment Banking Group (co-responsable du groupe de banque d’investissement et d’entreprise dans les soins de santé, Amérique du Nord) chez CitiGroup. Avant de rejoindre CitiGroup, Jennifer Fox a occupé des postes de direction dans le domaine de la banque d’investissement à la Deutsche Bank, à la Bear Stearns, à la Bank of America et chez Prudential Securities. Elle est titulaire d’une licence en finance et en marketing délivrée par le Manhattan College.

Le D^r Fischer est médecin et scientifique. Elle s’est forgée une grande expérience dans le monde universitaire et dans des laboratoires pharmaceutiques et des sociétés de biotechnologie, en dirigeant des programmes de recherche et de développement de stade précoce et avancé dans de nombreux domaines thérapeutiques, notamment la neurologie et les maladies rares. Avant de rejoindre Zenas, elle était Chief Development Officer (directrice du développement) et Head of Translational Medicine (directrice de la médecine translationnelle) chez Biohaven, un laboratoire biopharmaceutique coté en Bourse. Tanya Fischer a commencé sa carrière dans l’industrie chez Bristol Myers Squibb et a occupé des postes de direction en R&D, avec de plus en plus de responsabilités, chez EMD-Serono, Sanofi-Genzyme et Alnylam. Elle est neurologue et a été professeure à l’école de médecine de l’université de Yale au terme de son internat en neurologie à l’hôpital Yale New Haven. Elle est titulaire d’un doctorat en médecine et d’un doctorat en sciences de l’Université de médecine et dentisterie du New Jersey (de la Robert Wood Johnson Medical School en médecine et de l’Université Rutgers en sciences). Elle a en outre reçu la prestigieuse Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

À propos de Zenas BioPharma

Zenas BioPharma est un laboratoire biopharmaceutique d’envergure mondiale déterminé à devenir un leader dans le développement et la commercialisation de traitements dans les domaines de l’inflammation et de l’immunologie (« I&I ») pour les patients qui en ont besoin dans le monde entier. Avec des capacités de développement et des opérations cliniques aux quatre coins de la planète, Zenas fait progresser un portefeuille de traitements de maladies auto-immunes potentiellement différenciés dans des domaines où les besoins médicaux ne sont pas satisfaits. Notre équipe de direction expérimentée et notre réseau de partenaires commerciaux stimulent l’excellence opérationnelle, afin d’apporter des traitements potentiellement transformateurs dans l’optique d’améliorer la qualité de vie des personnes atteintes de maladies rares et auto-immunes. Pour tout complément d’information sur Zenas BioPharma, veuillez consulter le site www.zenasbio.com et nous suivre sur Twitter à l’adresse @ZenasBioPharma et sur LinkedIn.

À propos de l’obéxélimab

L’obéxélimab est un anticorps monoclonal, humanisé, non cytolytique, bifonctionnel et expérimental de phase 3, qui imite l’action de complexes antigène-anticorps en liant l’antigène CD19 et le récepteur FcγRIIb afin d’inhiber l’activité des lymphocytes B. Dans plusieurs études cliniques de stade précoce, notamment sur diverses maladies auto-immunes, 198 sujets ont été traités avec l’obéxélimab. Dans le cadre de ces études cliniques, l’obéxélimab a démontré une inhibition de la fonction des lymphocytes B sans les épuiser, donnant lieu à un effet thérapeutique encourageant chez les patients atteints de diverses maladies auto-immunes. Zenas a acquis des droits mondiaux exclusifs sur l’obéxélimab auprès de Xencor, Inc. L’obéxélimab fait actuellement l’objet d’une étude clinique mondiale de phase 3 portant sur des patients atteints de maladies liées aux IgG4 et d’une étude mondiale de phase 2/3 portant sur des patients atteints d’anémie hémolytique auto-immune (« AHAI ») à auto-anticorps « chauds ». Le développement clinique de l’obéxélimab pour le traitement de la sclérose en plaques et du lupus érythémateux systémique est en cours d’évaluation.

Davantage d’informations sur l’étude de phase 3 (INDIGO) pour le traitement de la maladie liée aux IgG4 sont disponibles sur clinicaltrials.gov : NCT05662241. Davantage d’informations sur l’étude de phase 3 (SApHiAre) pour le traitement de l’AHAI à auto-anticorps « chauds » sont disponibles sur clinicaltrials.gov : NCT05786573.

Contact investisseurs et médias :
Joe Farmer, président et directeur de l’exploitation
Zenas BioPharma
IR@zenasbio.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8988518

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

• Most successful dinosaur exhibit of all-time
• More than 1.5 million visitors see Barbara and Peter – a world-first male & female T. rex pairing
• Barbara is one of only three female T. rex specimens ever discovered
• Auckland Museum breaks new ground by open access publication of scientific research of the specimens
• Visitor numbers equivalent to a third of the population of New Zealand have seen the Barbara and Peter T. rex exhibit

AUCKLAND, New Zealand and LONDON, Dec. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With just days left to run, the world’s first display of an adult male and female T.rex side by side is believed to be the most successful dinosaur exhibition of all time.

Already, 1.5 million people have visited Auckland Museum to see this spectacular exhibition, which has run for a year, and which will draw to a close on December 10, 2023. Given that New Zealand itself has a population of just 5.1 million inhabitants, the numbers who came to see the two T.rex dinosaurs, named Barbara and Peter, are unprecedented.

David Reeves, CEO of Auckland Museum, hailed the impact of the exhibition: “Not only have we seen visitor numbers equivalent to almost the whole of Auckland’s population of 1.6 million come through the doors, but Barbara and Peter have provided a once-in-a-lifetime, educational experience for many, many thousands of school children. It has been a joy to see people’s reactions as they encounter these magnificent specimens for the first time.”

Tyrannosaurus rex fossils are extremely rare, with only about 20 T. rex on display in museums worldwide. These were the first T. rex exhibits in the Southern Hemisphere. The world’s most famous dinosaur is so scarce that there is no T. rex on permanent exhibit in the Middle East, the whole of Asia, Africa or Latin America. There are only four T. rex on display in Europe.

Female T. rex specimens are rarer still, with Barbara representing only the third ever pregnant Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur skeleton to be discovered. Barbara is 44.7 per cent complete, making her the 8th most complete T. rex in the world. She measures an impressive 11.7 metres long and 3.4m high.

Close viewing of the T.rex reveals some of the incredible anatomical features of one of the largest land predators of all time and offers the ability to inspect injuries that pathological findings revealed, specifically an injury to Barbara’s leg, likely to have been caused by another T.rex. It is remarkable that a massive animal like Barbara, which relied on walking or running on two legs as the primary method of locomotion, could survive such an injury. She lived for a long period after the injury, as can be seen by the evidence of a healed metatarsal.

Dr Andre Lujan, President of the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences, said: “The Auckland Museum should be congratulated on this ground-breaking world first exhibit of a male and female T.rex together. Visitor numbers show that a huge percentage of New Zealand’s children got to see these magnificent specimens, which is a wonderful inspiration for the next generation of paleontologists.”

Alongside the exhibiting of Barbara and Peter, Auckland Museum has made public the preliminary scientific research on the specimens, undertaken by expert academics. According to David Reeves: “The publication of this research, made available to the museum and its visitors, is a novel and hugely important concept, designed to bridge the gap for the lay observer between the learned, peer-reviewed academic reports and the very limited data typically supplied to visitors by museums in support of such exhibits. This has truly ignited the imagination of young scientists in New Zealand.”

These preliminary reports have been prepared by two of the world’s top theropod paleontologists, Dr David Burnham (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum) and Dr John Nudds (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester), who studied both Barbara and Peter in their university laboratories for many months.

Dr Nudds commented: “These reports are designed to encourage children and young people to learn about the extraordinary world of theropods, a subject that has fascinated me for my entire professional life.”

Dr Burnham added: “Barbara and Peter each represents an individual animal that was a living and breathing organism. Studying and reporting publicly about each individual specimen means it becomes part of the entire body of knowledge about Tyrannosaurus rex. Therefore, every documented specimen counts enormously, not least because there are so very few.”

This unique display, together with published research, has afforded the public to gain a deeper understanding of the history and mysteries of the T.rex, providing insights into their origins, lives, and the remarkable process of finding and mounting fossil specimens.

The exhibition will close soon, but already 1.5 million people have been thrilled by the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stand face-to-face with two real T. rex, brought together for the first time in 66 million years.

For further information

Seven Dials City

Simon Kelner
simon@sevendialspr.com
+44 7775 788898

James Devas
james@sevendialscity.com
+44 7885 813 114

ABOUT AUCKLAND WAR MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand’s first museums. The Museum tells the story of New Zealand, its place in the Pacific and its people. The Museum is a war memorial for the province of Auckland and holds one of New Zealand’s top three heritage libraries. It has pre-eminent Māori and Pacific collections, significant natural history resources and major social and military history collections, as well as decorative arts and pictorial collections.

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