CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:INFI), an innovative cancer drug discovery and development company, today announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Martin Babler and Ian F. Smith. In addition, Infinity announced two leadership promotions within its executive leadership team: Michael S. Curtis, Ph.D. to vice president, pharmaceutical development and Jeanette Kohlbrenner to senior director, human resources. These appointments facilitate the advancement of Infinity's mission to discover, develop, and deliver to patients important new medicines for the treatment of cancer, and they also reflect Infinity's commitment to leadership development.
Martin Babler is president and chief executive officer of Talima Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held drug delivery company. Prior to joining Talima, from 1998 to 2006, Mr. Babler was vice president of Immunology Sales and Marketing, Senior Director of Commercial Development and Director of Cardiovascular Marketing, at Genentech, Inc. Prior to joining Genentech, Mr. Babler held various roles in sales, sales management, marketing and business development with Eli Lilly and Company. Mr. Babler holds a degree in Pharmacy/Pharmacology from the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland and has attended the Executive Development Program at Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Ian F. Smith currently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to joining Vertex, Mr. Smith served as a partner in the Life Science and Technology Practice Group of Ernst & Young LLP, an accounting firm, from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Smith initially joined Ernst & Young's U.K. firm in 1987, and then joined its Boston office in 1995. Mr. Smith currently is a member of the board of directors of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., Epix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and TolerRx Inc., all publicly-traded biopharmaceutical companies. Mr. Smith holds a B.A. in accounting and finance from Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K., is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is a Chartered Accountant of England and Wales.
Michael S. Curtis, Ph.D., promoted to vice president, pharmaceutical development, has been a key figure in the manufacturing, formulation, and analytical characterization of Infinity's pre-clinical and clinical drug candidates since joining Infinity in 2004. Dr. Curtis has more than ten years' experience in multiple pharmaceutical development and analytical functions at biopharmaceutical companies including Transkayotic Therapies (acquired by Shire), Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He has worked in various aspects of a number of marketed products including Elaprase(r) (idursulfase), Myozyme(r) (alglucosidase alfa), Capoten(r) (captopril), and Taxol(r) (paclitaxel) and the early development of Orencia(r) (abatacept). Dr. Curtis received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Upstate Medical University.
Jeanette Kohlbrenner, promoted to senior director, human resources, joined Infinity in 2006 and has played an instrumental role in building Infinity's human resource and organizational development functions. Ms. Kohlbrenner joined Infinity with over 15 years of experience in senior human resource roles with life science and medical device companies, ranging from start-up to fully commercial, global organizations. Prior to joining Infinity, Ms. Kohlbrenner was the business unit director of human resources for Cambrex Biosciences. Before Cambrex, Ms. Kohlbrenner held various positions at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, Genetics Institute/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Hewlett-Packard's Medical Device business (now Philips Medical). Ms. Kohlbrenner holds an M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.A. in Mathematics from Holy Cross.
About Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Infinity is an innovative cancer drug discovery and development company that is seeking to leverage its strength in small molecule drug technologies to discover, develop, and deliver to patients best-in-class medicines for the treatment of cancer and related conditions. For more information on Infinity, please refer to the company's website at http://www.infi.com.
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