NOVATO, Calif., Jan. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel products for rare and ultra-rare diseases, today announced that it has appointed Camille L. Bedrosian, M.D. as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. In this role, Dr. Bedrosian will provide strategic leadership to the clinical development and translational research programs, and will oversee Medical Affairs, Global Clinical Development groups, Clinical Operations and Drug Safety/Pharmacovigilance. She will report to Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., Ultragenyx's Chief Executive Officer, and will serve on the Executive Leadership Team. Most recently, Dr. Bedrosian was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“Camille is a strategic thinker who has extensive hands-on experience developing new medicines for rare diseases and has helped build successful development organizations,” said Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Ultragenyx. “Throughout her career she has been highly regarded as a dedicated, patient-focused clinician and leader, and we are thrilled to welcome Camille to Ultragenyx as we continue to build and advance our pipeline of rare disease therapies.”
“Ultragenyx has a strong commitment and track record of developing new treatments that improve the lives of rare disease patients and I will bring my passion and prior experience to this fulfilling role of bringing important therapies to those suffering from rare genetic diseases,” said Dr. Bedrosian.
During her ten years at Alexion, Dr. Bedrosian provided leadership for the development of drugs and drug candidates including those designed to address devastating rare diseases caused by defects in the complement system including Soliris® (eculizumab) for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. Prior to Alexion, Dr. Bedrosian spent more than five years as the Chief Medical Officer for ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she provided leadership for drug development, built the clinical organization and participated in the partnership with Merck for ARIAD's small molecule mTOR inhibitor. Before joining ARIAD, Dr. Bedrosian served from 1997 to 2002 in the Clinical Research and Development Department of Genetics Institute, Inc. (acquired by Wyeth, now part of Pfizer), where she assumed roles of increasing responsibility and became therapeutic area head for hemophilia.
Dr. Bedrosian was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center and member of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she also had completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology. Dr. Bedrosian holds an A.B. degree in Honors Chemistry from Harvard University, an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School and an M.S. degree in Biophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She currently serves as Member of the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee for the Department of Biology.
About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
Ultragenyx is a biopharmaceutical company committed to bringing to market novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare diseases, with a focus on serious, debilitating genetic diseases. The Company has rapidly built and advanced a diverse portfolio of product candidates with the potential to address diseases for which the unmet medical need is high, the biology for treatment is clear, and for which there are no approved therapies.
The Company is led by a management team experienced in the development and commercialization of rare disease therapeutics. Ultragenyx's strategy is predicated upon time and cost-efficient drug development, with the goal of delivering safe and effective therapies to patients with the utmost urgency.
For more information on Ultragenyx, please visit the Company's website at www.ultragenyx.com.
Contact Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
Investors & Media
Danielle Keatley
415-475-6876