PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) announced today the appointment of Paul L. Berns to its Board of Directors. Since 2006, Mr. Berns has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of Allos Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing anti-cancer therapeutics.
“We are honored to have an industry leader of Paul’s caliber join the Anacor Board," said David Perry, Anacor’s Chief Executive Officer. "He is a proven and skilled executive with broad experience in drug development and commercial operations. We welcome him and look forward to his contributions as we continue to advance our lead product candidates.”
"I am pleased to join the Anacor Board of Directors," stated Paul Berns. "It is a very exciting time for the Company in the near term as it completes its Phase 3 trials for tavaborole for the treatment of onychomycosis and furthers the development of AN2728 in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. In addition, over the long term I believe the Company’s unique boron-based drug discovery platform has the potential to generate additional novel drug candidates.”
Prior to joining Allos Therapeutics, Mr. Berns was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Bone Care International, a specialty pharmaceutical company that was acquired by Genzyme Corporation in 2005. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Berns served as Vice President and General Manager of the Immunology, Oncology and Pain Therapeutics business unit of Abbott Laboratories. From 2000 to 2001, he served as Vice President, Marketing of BASF Pharmaceuticals-Knoll, a pharmaceutical company, and from 1990 to 2000, Mr. Berns held various positions, including senior management roles, at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Mr. Berns serves on the Boards of Directors of XenoPort and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Berns received a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.
About Anacor Pharmaceuticals
Anacor is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform. Anacor has discovered seven compounds that are currently in development including its lead compounds: tavaborole, a topical antifungal for the treatment of onychomycosis; AN2728, a topical anti-inflammatory PDE-4 inhibitor for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; GSK ‘052 (formerly referred to as AN3365), a systemic antibiotic for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, which is licensed to GlaxoSmithKline; AN8194, which is licensed to Eli Lilly and Company for an undisclosed animal health application; and AN5568, which is licensed to Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative for sleeping sickness. Anacor is also developing AN2718 and AN2898 as backups to tavaborole and AN2728, respectively. In addition, Anacor has a research and development agreement with Medicis Pharmaceuticals to discover and develop boron-based small molecule compounds directed against a target for the potential treatment of acne. For more information, visit http://www.anacor.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that relate to future events including the goals, plans and objectives and the future of Anacor. These forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual levels of activity, performance or achievement to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including risks related to enrollment and successful completion of our trials, risk of unforeseen side effects, risks related to our collaborations and risks related to regulatory approval of new drug candidates. These statements reflect the views of Anacor as of the date of this press release with respect to future events and, except as required by law, it undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.