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Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. Announces
Appointment of Kenneth Luskey, M.D. as Vice President, Clinical
Research
HAYWARD, CA, Sept. 9, 2008/ Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. today
announced the appointment of Kenneth Luskey, M.D. to the newly
created position of Vice President, Clinical Research reporting
to K. Alice Leung, the Company’s CEO. In his new role, Dr.
Luskey will lead the clinical development of Intarcia’s
proprietary drug development programs including Omega DUROS®
therapy for hepatitis C and ITCA 650 for the treatment of type 2
diabetes.
Dr. Luskey has extensive experience in endocrinology and
metabolism research, as well as in drug development. He spent
more than 13 years in academic medicine prior to holding
leadership positions with several biopharmaceutical companies
where he directed the development of new therapies for the
treatment of diabetes. Dr. Luskey began his career at the
National Institutes of Health before completing a fellowship and
receiving a faculty appointment at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical School. While in Dallas, he worked
extensively with Drs. Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael Brown,
winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1985 for their work on
cholesterol metabolism. In 1991, Dr. Luskey joined Scios, Inc.
(now a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies)
where he led research efforts to develop new treatments for
diabetes and obesity. Subsequently, Dr. Luskey joined Metabolex,
Inc. where he led research and drug development programs focused
on diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance as Vice President,
Clinical Development. Dr. Luskey also was head of experimental
medicine for Tularik Inc. (subsequently acquired by Amgen Inc.),
and was most recently head of preclinical and translational
medicine for Nuvelo, Inc. Dr. Luskey received his medical
education at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
in Dallas. He trained in internal medicine with a subspecialty
in endocrinology and metabolism.
"We are very pleased to have Ken join Intarcia Therapeutics to
lead our hepatitis C and diabetes clinical development
efforts,'' said Alice Leung."Ken’s drug development experience
and expertise in the areas of diabetes and metabolic diseases
are tremendous assets as we prepare to initiate clinical
development of ITCA 650 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We
look to his significant clinical and development expertise as we
bring Omega DUROS therapy into later stages of development as
well as expand the Company’s pipeline in the metabolic diseases
area."
Intarcia is currently conducting a phase 1 study of Omega DUROS
therapy in combination with ribavirin for the treatment of
patients with HCV genotype-1 who have failed prior standard of
care treatment. In addition, Intarcia is preparing to initiate a
phase 1 clinical trial of ITCA 650 in the first quarter of 2009
for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Both of these programs use
Intarcia’s proprietary subcutaneous DUROS drug delivery
technology that provides continuous and consistent
administration of drug therapy.
Dr. Luskey said, "Intarcia represents a very unique opportunity.
I believe the proven advantages of the DUROS delivery technology
hold great potential in developing more effective treatments for
many chronic diseases, including hepatitis C and type 2
diabetes. I am very excited to join Intarcia at this stage of
the Company’s development and look forward to directing clinical
programs to fulfill the potential of DUROS delivery in these two
disease areas.''
About Intarcia
Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company
developing therapeutics for patients with chronic diseases in
which there are significant unmet medical needs. Intarcia’s drug
development expertise and competitive edge are complemented by
its ability to stabilize macromolecules and to deliver them in a
constant and consistent manner via the proprietary DUROS drug
delivery platform. The initial programs that Intarcia is
pursuing are in hepatitis C and type 2 diabetes.
Intarcia and its logo are registered trademarks of Intarcia
Therapeutics, Inc. DUROS is a registered trademark of ALZA
Corporation.
MEDIA CONTACT
Intarcia:
James Ahlers
Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.
(510)782-7800
james.ahlers@intarcia.com |