EDMONTON, Alberta, Oct. 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fedora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the creation of a Board of Directors and appointment of Leonard E. Post, Ph.D. and Ronald W. Odynski, Q.C. as directors. The Board will be chaired by Christopher Micetich, chief executive officer and founder of Fedora Pharmaceuticals.
Commenting on the appointment, Christopher Micetich, stated, "Len and Ron have an impressive combined expertise in the legal, corporate governance, drug development, regulatory and commercialization aspects of the biotechnology industry. Both possess legal and corporate experience in navigating partnerships and other business development transactions with both large and small companies. These skills will be particularly valuable as Fedora aims to secure the most advantageous partnerships in the development of our beta-lactamase inhibitor program. Further, Len's research expertise taking molecules from discovery to the clinic will provide Fedora with critical insight as we select a candidate to advance into toxicology and other preclinical studies in 2013 and evolve into a clinical-stage company."
Ronald Odynski currently serves as the managing partner of Ogilvie LLP and provides general counsel legal support and corporate governance advice for a variety of private and public sector organizations. Mr. Odynski currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Serenic Corporation and the Alberta Ballet Company. At Ogilvie, his practice areas include health care, research and advanced technology. Within healthcare specifically, Mr. Odynski has advised Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions as well as its predecessor, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. He served the Kidney Foundation of Canada as Alberta president, national vice president and member of the National Medical Advisory Committee and in 1979 was a recipient of the National President's Award, which is granted to individuals or groups demonstrating outstanding contribution and dedication to the Kidney Foundation. Further, he served as general legal counsel and a founding Board member at Synphar Laboratories Inc., a biopharmaceutical company founded by the late Dr. Ronald Micetich, from 1987 to 1999. Mr. Odynski received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta. At the Alberta School of Business, he was granted the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation.
Dr. Leonard E. Post has over 30 years of experience in all stages of pharmaceutical and biotechnology company R&D from early drug discovery through clinical development and FDA approval. Dr. Post is currently the chief scientific officer of BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biopharmaceuticals company with four marketed products and five currently in clinical development. In addition, he sits on the Boards of Directors of Altiris Therapeutics and Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, two private biotechnology companies and Viralytics, a public biotechnology company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Prior to joining BioMarin, Dr. Post held various senior research positions at LEAD Therapeutics, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals. He received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, after which he performed a postdoctoral fellowship in virology at the University of Chicago with Dr. Bernard Roizman.
About Fedora Pharmaceuticals
Fedora Pharmaceuticals is developing a family of beta-lactamase inhibitors designed to have activity against pathogens containing all four classes of beta-lactamases. Beta-lactamases are enzymes produced by bacteria that destroy the ring structure common to beta-lactam antibiotics. This class of antibiotics, which includes penicillin derivatives, cephalosporins, monobactams and carbapenems, is estimated to comprise 65% of the antibiotics market worldwide. The beta-lactamase inhibitors under development at Fedora will be used in combination with various beta-lactam antibiotics to treat those antibiotic infections currently resistant to therapy. Fedora Pharmaceuticals is in the lead optimization stage of preclinical development with its first beta-lactamase inhibitor candidates, and anticipates entering the final stages of preclinical investigation in 2013, leading to an Investigational New Drug (IND) application and initiation of clinical studies in 2014. Fedora was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For more information on the company, please visit www.fedorapharma.com.