 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
26 September 2006
Richard
J. White appointed to the F2G Ltd Board of Directors
Manchester,
England, 26th September 2006 - F2G Limited, specialists in research
and development of new treatments for serious fungal infections in man,
is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Richard J. White to the
Board of Directors.
Dr White has a wealth of experience in infectious disease drug discovery.
Following a post-doctoral fellowship on microbial biochemistry at Oxford
University, England, he spent the first 28 years of his career in the
pharmaceutical industry in positions at Lepetit (Italy), Glaxo (UK),
Lederle (USA), and at Bristol Myers Squibb in Connecticut, where he
was Vice President in charge of Infectious Disease Drug Discovery for
12 years. There he was involved with the Discovery/Development of the
cephalopsporins Cefepime and Cefprozil, and the AIDS drugs Didanosine
and Zerit. In 1997 he moved to Biotech taking a position at Versicor
in California where he became Chief Scientific Officer. In the ensuing
8 years he played an important role in licensing in and development
of Dalbavancin and Anidulafungin, taking Versicor public, merging with
Biosearch Italia to create Vicuron, and ultimately in achieving a market
capital of 1.9 billion dollars when it was sold to Pfizer in September
2005.
Shane Kelly, Chief Executive of F2G commented “Dr White’s
involvement will be extremely beneficial as our programs enter the clinic.
His strong experience with Biotech and Pharma brings a great balance
to the Board of F2G. He understands the needs and challenges of emerging
companies, and has successfully navigated the complex waters of leading
such companies to a successful position.”
Mr Jens Kindtler, Chairman of the Board added “We are delighted
to welcome Richard White to the Board. His vast experience in the development
of anti-infective drugs within biotech and large pharma, combined with
his commercial acumen, will be a valuable addition to the Board. I look
forward to working with him towards the further development of F2G.”
Richard J. White said “F2G is an exciting company focused on a
unique niche in an expanding market. I am very pleased to be working
with the Board towards the further development of the company’s
programs and the progression of new antifungal drugs through the clinic
to market.”
F2G’s
technologies focus on the development of new and innovative drug treatments
for systemic fungal infections in man. This market is currently estimated
at over five and a half billion dollars annually and is growing at approximately
20% per year. In addition, there is new evidence suggesting a correlation
between fungal infections and allergic conditions (including asthma).
If proven, this would add significantly to the growth of the total addressable
market.
F2G has developed unique capabilities in the field including proprietary
genomic targets, target validation, drug discovery and drug development.
They have also amassed unique expertise in the fields of clinical need
and corporate and business development specific to the field.
F2G’s lead investors are BankInvest Biomedical Venture,
a leading life science investor dedicated primarily to the drug development
segment, and Merifin Capital, a European private investment group.
Astellas Venture Management LLC, the corporate venture capital
arm of Astellas Pharma Inc, joined the syndicate of existing investors
in March 2006.
For more information visit www.f2g.com
Contact:
Shane Kelly
Chief Executive Officer
F2G Ltd
Tel: (+44) 0161 785 1270
Fax: (+44) 0161 785 1273
Email: shanekelly@f2g.com
Tel +44 (0)161 785 1270 Fax +44 (0)161 785 1273 Email contact@f2g.com