SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that Peder K. Jensen, M.D. has been elected to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Jensen has over 24 years of global drug development experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has been responsible for more than 40 new drug approvals in the United States, Europe and Japan during his career. He most recently served as Corporate Senior Vice President and General Manager, R&D for Japan and Asia/Pacific at Schering-Plough Corporation. Prior to that, he held a number of global senior R&D positions at Schering-Plough, including Executive Vice President of Clinical Development. Dr. Jensen previously held senior R&D positions at Chiron and Ciba-Geigy, and a number of academic posts. Dr. Jensen is currently president of BayWay Consultants, a firm he founded in 2010 that advises pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
"FivePrime is very pleased to welcome Peder Jensen to our Board of Directors," said Lewis T. Williams, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of FivePrime. "Peder's broad range of drug development experience in many areas, including oncology, immunology and neurology, adds critical expertise to FivePrime. We are pleased that he will serve as a Board Member and also as an advisor to our development organization."
"I am very excited to join FivePrime's Board of Directors," said Dr. Jensen. "The scientific and clinical leadership at FivePrime is exceptional, and I look forward to working with FivePrime to advance their products through the clinic."
Dr. Jensen currently serves as a member of the Board of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Jensen received his M.D. from the University of Copenhagen, where he also completed his post-graduate medical training in neurology and internal medicine.
About FivePrime
Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage, privately-held, biotechnology company discovering and developing innovative protein and antibody therapeutics. Using its integrated discovery platform, FivePrime is building a strong pipeline of oncology and immunology drug candidates. FivePrime mines its comprehensive library of secreted and extracellular human proteins to screen for medically relevant new therapeutic proteins and antibody targets. FivePrime has entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize FP1039 (also known as HGS1036) with Human Genome Sciences, Inc. in the United States, Canada and the EU. FivePrime has retained co-promotion rights in the U.S. and full rights to develop and commercialize FP1039 in the rest of world territories, including Asia. FivePrime has also established significant collaborations for the discovery of innovative biologics in specific therapeutic areas with several leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Centocor and GlaxoSmithKline. For more information about FivePrime, please visit FivePrime's web site at www.fiveprime.com.
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