Press Releases
Jennerex Names Dr. Mark P. Backer as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations
San Francisco, California, October 21, 2010 — Jennerex, Inc. (San Francisco, CA and Ottawa, Ontario), a clinical-stage cancer biotherapeutics company, today announced the appointment of Mark P. Backer, Ph.D., to the newly-created position of senior vice president, technical operations. Dr. Backer will be responsible for all aspects of chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) in support of Jennerex's late-stage product, JX-594, as well as pipeline products.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Mark to our executive management team, as he brings over 30 years of experience leading all aspects of operations in development-stage and commercial biopharmaceutical companies," said David H. Kirn, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Jennerex. "His depth of expertise specifically in viral vaccine manufacturing and process development will be instrumental as we look forward to the initiation of our late stage clinical trials, and the development of our commercial manufacturing strategy for JX-594."
Dr. Backer joins Jennerex after working as principal of Biologics Technical Consulting where he provided strategic and technical consulting services supporting developers of biological products. Previously, he served as CEO and board member for Vaxart, Inc., a private company focused on developing vector-based oral vaccines. Dr. Backer served as founding chairman and then board member of Molecular Medicine BioServices (now SAFC Biopharma), a viral-based contract manufacturing firm. Dr. Backer also held management positions of increasing responsibility with Protein Design Labs, Aviron (now MedImmune Vaccines), Coulter Pharmaceuticals, Systemix, IDEC, Eli Lilly and Genentech. Dr. Backer holds a BS in chemistry from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington.
About Jennerex
Jennerex, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class, breakthrough targeted oncolytic products for cancer. The Company's lead product JX-594 is currently in two mid-stage clinical trials in patients with primary liver cancer—an international, randomized, Phase 2 dose-response clinical trial, and a Phase 2 study in combination with sorafenib. Published studies designed to establish optimal dose levels and the safety profile of JX-594 have shown its ability to selectively target a variety of common cancer tumor types. JX-594 and other product candidates under development are designed to attack cancer tumors through three diverse mechanisms of action: the lysis of cancer cells through viral replication, the reduction of the blood supply to tumors through vascular targeting and destruction and the stimulation of the body's immune response against cancer cells. Jennerex is headquartered in San Francisco and has related research and development operations in Ottawa, Canada and Pusan, South Korea. For more information about Jennerex, please visit www.jennerex.com.
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