SAN DIEGO, Feb. 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Ciclofilin" or the "Company"), a privately held biotech, announced today that Dr. Nikolai Naoumov, a world-renowned clinician-scientist in the field of hepatology, will join the company’s Scientific Advisory Board (“SAB”). Ciclofilin’s SAB was established in 2015 to guide the company’s drug development program for its lead drug candidate, CPI-431-32, for the treatment of Hepatitis B Virus ("HBV") infection and liver disease.
Nikolai V. Naoumov, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, FAASLD, is Global Head, Therapeutic Area Hepatology and Transplantation at Novartis Pharma, based in Basel, Switzerland. In addition to his work at Novartis Global Headquarters in Basel, Dr. Naoumov is also Honorary Professor of Hepatology, University College London and Honorary Scientific Advisor to the Foundation for Liver Research in the UK. Before joining Novartis in 2007, Dr. Naoumov was Professor of Hepatology at University College London and Consultant Hepatologist at University College London Hospitals. His work elucidated the relationship between replication, mutations, protein expression of hepatitis viruses and virus-specific immunity in the pathogenesis of liver damage caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) and TT-virus. During his academic career as clinician-scientist, Dr. Naoumov has been involved in the development of many of the new treatments for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, initially at the Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College Hospital, London and subsequently at the Institute of Hepatology, University College London. Dr. Naoumov has more than 200 publications in the fields of liver immunology, treatment of viral hepatitis and liver transplantation. He is Fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the Royal College of Pathologists in the UK, and a member of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He was elected in the first class of Fellows of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).
Dr. Naoumov’s extensive experience in hepatology will complement to an already seasoned SAB, composed of world-class scientists and clinicians that include Dr. Philippe Gallay, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbial Science at the Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; Dr. Tarek Hassanein, M.D., FACP, FACG, AGAF, FAASLD, Professor of Medicine, UCSD School of Medicine, Director of Outreach Services, UCSD Center for Transplantation, Director, Southern California GI & Liver Centers, Medical Director, Southern California Research Center, USA; Mr. Timothy Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer, CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting, Cincinnati, OH, USA; and Dr. Keith Anderson, Ph.D., SVP, Technical Operations ProNAi, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
“We are very pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Naoumov to Ciclofilin’s SAB," commented Dr. Robert Foster, Ciclofilin's CEO. "Dr. Naoumov is highly regarded for his work in the field of hepatology and has researched the roles of cyclophilins in a number of indications, including the role of cyclophilins in viral infections. In particular, much of Dr. Naoumov’s research is based on cyclosporine derived analogs and their impact on human health and disease, which is very relevant to our own research. Overall, we are confident that our SAB is well poised to bring our lead molecule, CPI-431-32, through all stages of non-clinical and clinical development."
About Ciclofilin:
Ciclofilin is a privately held life sciences company based in San Diego, California, with R&D facilities in Edmonton, Canada. The company's lead drug candidate, CPI-431-32, is being developed as a treatment for chronic HBV infection. CPI-431-32 interferes with the ability of the HBV to infect cells, propagate, and cause disease primarily by preventing HBV interaction with host cell cyclophilins. CPI-431-32 also demonstrates anti-fibrotic activity in the liver, and may offer clinical benefits to patients in addition to anti-HBV activity.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the potential of our lead drug CPI-431-32 for the treatment of HBV. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the significance of our preclinical results and potential applications of our compound for the treatment of HBV patients. Statements that are not historical facts are based on our management's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and our management's beliefs and assumptions. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Ciclofilin undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as required by applicable law.