Atopix Therapeutics Appoints Dr Andrew Zambanini as Chief Medical Officer

ABINGDON, England, September 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Atopix Therapeutics Limited ("Atopix"), a UK biotechnology company developing a novel class of medicines to treat atopic dermatitis and severe asthma, today announces the appointment of Dr Andrew Zambanini as Chief Medical Officer.

Dr Zambanini joins Atopix as it advances the clinical development of its lead CRTH2 antagonist, OC459, in multiple indications in Th2-mediated disease.

Dr Andrew Zambanini has almost 25 years of experience in clinical medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.  He has worked with companies that span the spectrum of the pharmaceutical industry from smaller start-up companies as well as medium and large sized pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, where from 2003 until 2010 he held a variety of roles of increasing seniority up to Vice President level, Takeda Global R&D, Novartis, Kyowa Hakko Kirin UK, ProStrakan, Gilead, and Circassia. 

A dually accredited Clinical Pharmacologist and Pharmaceutical Physician, Andrew has strong Clinical Development, Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance experience. His work has focused on the clinical development and commercialisation of both small molecules and biopharmaceuticals across a number of therapy areas.  

Tim Edwards, Executive Chairman of Atopix commented: "I'm pleased to welcome Andy to Atopix.  We recently received approval to begin a Phase 2a study to evaluate the effect of OC459 in patients with severe asthma who have persistent airway eosinophilia, and trials are also continuing in atopic dermatitis and moderate, steroid-free, eosinophilic asthma. Andrew's breadth of knowledge and his experience of developing and managing clinical trials will be invaluable to the Company as we seek to realise the potential of OC459 and ATX2417."

Commenting on his appointment Dr Andrew Zambanini said: "I am excited to be working with Atopix and am looking forward to collaborating with the Management Team to progress its pipeline of promising medicines through clinical development.  The Th2 mechanism has the potential to offer significant advances in treatment for serious disease and I believe Atopix is very well positioned in what is a fast-moving field which could impact the treatment of many people worldwide."

About Atopix Therapeutics Ltd 

Atopix Therapeutics Limited is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel treatments for Th2-mediated diseases including atopic dermatitis and severe asthma. Atopix has a pipeline of once-daily, oral small molecule CRTH2 antagonists for Th2-mediated disorders. Its lead product, OC459, is in four proof-of-concept clinical studies including a Phase 2 clinical trial for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and a Phase 2 trial for severe asthma. Its next-generation CRTH2 antagonist, ATX2417, is being assessed in a Phase 1 trial. Atopix is based in Oxford, UK and is backed by highly experienced investors including SR One, Wellington Partners, SV Life Sciences and MPM Capital.

For more information, please visit http://www.atopixtherapeutics.com.

About Th2-mediated disease 

The Th2 mechanism is central to a range of diseases including atopic dermatitis and asthma. Therapies targeting Th2 have the potential to offer significant advances in treatment for patients and address a $10bn market. Clinical validation is building with studies of therapies counteracting Th2 responses under development at major pharmaceutical companies and showing positive results in clinical trials. Atopix is developing highly specific, highly potent oral Th2 drug candidates that address CRTH2 - a cell surface receptor pivotal to the Th2 mechanism - and which possess excellent drug like characteristics.

About OC459 

OC459 is Atopix's lead development candidate - an orally active CRTH2 antagonist. OC459 was the first to demonstrate the clinical utility of CRTH2 antagonists and has been shown to be effective in the treatment of eosinophilic asthma and allergic rhinitis. It is effective when dosed once a day and provides marked improvements in patients with a Th2 dominant form of the disease who typically experience more severe symptoms and are prone to exacerbations. OC459 has demonstrated an excellent safety profile in more than 750 patients. Atopix is now investing in three clinical studies of OC459 with highly-targeted patient populations in atopic dermatitis and severe eosinophilic asthma.

For more information please contact:

Atopix Therapeutics Ltd
Tim Edwards, Executive Chairman
+44(0)1235-841563
atopix@atopixtherapeutics.co.uk

Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Bielecka, Chris Gardner, Lindsey Neville
Tel: +44(0)203-709-5700
Email: atopix@consilium-comms.com