CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eleven Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing protein therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye, today announced the appointment of industry veteran Wendy L. Dixon, PhD, former Chief Marketing Officer and President of Global Marketing for Bristol Myers Squibb, to the company’s Board of Directors.
“Wendy brings a blend of biopharmaceutical, commercial and R&D leadership experience to Eleven, including executive positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck and Co., where she led teams that developed, commercialized and launched many successful global pharmaceutical products,” said Abbie Celniker, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eleven Biotherapeutics. “Wendy’s extensive experience will be invaluable to Eleven as we continue to look to expand, develop and commercialize our ophthalmic pipeline, including our lead product candidate, EBI-005, which is in Phase 3 clinical development for dry eye disease and Phase 2 clinical development for allergic conjunctivitis.”
“I see significant potential in Eleven’s pipeline of ophthalmic drug candidates which were derived from its proprietary AMP-Rx™ protein engineering platform to treat a range of ocular diseases including dry eye disease, allergic conjunctivitis, uveitis and diabetic macular edema,” said Dr. Dixon. “I am pleased to play a role in establishing Eleven as a leader in the development of novel protein therapeutics for ocular disease.”
Dr. Dixon brings 35 years of industry experience to the Eleven Biotherapeutics Board of Directors. Most recently, she was a senior advisor to The Monitor Group, now Monitor Deloitte, a global consulting firm, from 2010 to 2012. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Dixon had a series of commercial and development roles within Bristol-Myers Squibb, culminating as Chief Marketing Officer and President of Global Marketing, and was a member of the CEO's Executive Committee. Earlier, Dr. Dixon served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Merck and Co. and prior to that, she held executive management positions at West Pharmaceuticals, Osteotech and Centocor, and various positions at SmithKline and French (now GlaxoSmithKline) in marketing, regulatory affairs, project management and as a biochemist. Dr. Dixon received her BSc, MSc and PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK). Since 2005, Dr. Dixon has advised and consulted for a number of biopharmaceutical companies and has served as a member of several boards of directors including Alkermes PLC, bluebird bio, Incyte Corporation, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (sold to AstraZeneca PLC in 2012), Dentsply International and Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (sold to Actavis plc in 2014).
About Eleven Biotherapeutics
Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary protein engineering platform, called AMP-Rx, that it applies to the discovery and development of protein therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye. The Company’s therapeutic approach is based on the role of cytokines in diseases of the eye, the Company’s understanding of the structural biology of cytokines and the Company’s ability to rationally design and engineer proteins to modulate the effects of cytokines. Cytokines are cell signaling molecules found in the body that can have important inflammatory effects. For more information please refer to the Company’s website www.elevenbio.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements about the Company's strategy, future operations, advancement or maturation of its product candidates and product pipeline, clinical development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, including expectations regarding timing of initiation of clinical trials, patient enrollment and availability of results, regulatory requirements for initiation of clinical trials and registration of product candidates and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation and conduct of clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials, whether results of early clinical trials will be indicative of the results of future trials, the adequacy of any clinical models, uncertainties associated with regulatory review of clinical trials and applications for marketing approvals and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 2014 and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.