SEATTLE, June 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immune Design Corp. announced today the appointment of Roger M. Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., as a member of its Board of Directors. Dr. Perlmutter recently served as the Executive Vice President, Research and Development, at Amgen Inc., where he oversaw the company's worldwide research and development operations.
"On behalf of Immune Design, I want to welcome Roger as a new member of the Board of Directors. As both an internationally recognized executive leader in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industry and as an accomplished academician in the field of Immunology and Biology, his appointment will further strengthen our company and our quest of shaping the immune system to develop novel immune therapies that we are developing at Immune Design," commented Dr. Carlos Paya, Immune Design's Chief Executive Officer.
"Immune Design has advanced a pioneering approach towards the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines," stated Dr. Perlmutter. "I look forward to working more closely with the board and management at Immune Design, and welcome this opportunity to help transform vaccine development in the years to come."
Dr. Perlmutter served as Executive Vice President for Research and Development at Amgen, Inc. from 2001 until 2012, where he led the registration efforts for numerous new drugs including Sensipar™, Prolia™ Nplate™ and Xgeva™. Prior to joining Amgen, Dr. Perlmutter was for many years Professor and Chairman of the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He also served at Merck & Co. from 1997 to 2001, including as Executive Vice President for Worldwide Discovery and Preclinical Research.
Dr. Perlmutter is member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a director of StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) and the Institute for Systems Biology. A graduate of Reed College, Portland, OR., and current chairman of the Reed College Board of Trustees, Dr. Perlmutter received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. in 1979.
About Immune Design Corp.
Immune Design is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Seattle, Washington, and formed in 2008 to bring together some of the world's leaders in the field of molecular immunology to develop vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious and malignant disease. The company employs advanced and leading edge methods to precisely control the activation and context of antigen presentation by dendritic cells in order to shape the desired adaptive immune response. This goal is accomplished through the application of two proprietary technology platforms that activate the immune system by distinct mechanisms.
Additional information can be found on the company's website at www.immunedesign.com.
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