ChemoCentryx Appoints Israel F. Charo, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChemoCentryx, Inc., (Nasdaq:CCXI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer, announced today that it has appointed Israel F. Charo, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research, effective immediately. Dr. Charo has been a member of the ChemoCentryx Scientific Advisory Board.

"Dr. Charo brings a wealth of scientific expertise to ChemoCentryx, particularly in the area of the chemoattractant receptors in disease," said Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, ChemoCentryx. "He was responsible for the discovery and cloning of the important chemokine receptor known as CCR2, the target of our drug candidates CCX140 and CCX872. His industry credentials and deep understanding of our chemoattractant-based platform will be an important asset as we move our programs forward."

"ChemoCentryx has extraordinarily deep knowledge and experience in the chemoattractant space, and is poised to capture the great potential of this untapped family of targets for inflammation and oncology," said Israel F. Charo, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research, ChemoCentryx. "I am thrilled to be joining this dynamic company."

Prior to joining ChemoCentryx, Dr. Charo was a Scientist-in-Residence at Bay City Capital, a life sciences investment firm, since 2009. Dr. Charo is a Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco, and Professor of Medicine at UCSF, where he studies the role of chemokines in leukocyte trafficking and inflammation. His group at UCSF cloned the chemokine receptor known as CCR2, and showed that it is a major driver for the recruitment of monocyte/macrophages to developing atherosclerotic lesions. Previously, Dr. Charo was one of the founding scientists of COR Therapeutics (subsequently acquired by Millennium), where he was part of the team that developed the platelet inhibitor Integrilin.

Dr. Charo received his M.D., Ph.D. from SUNY Downstate in New York, and is trained in internal medicine (The New York Hospital, Weill Medical Center) and rheumatology (UCSF).

About ChemoCentryx

ChemoCentryx, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. The chemokine system is a biological network that regulates inflammation via a collection of secreted chemokine molecules, or ligands, and their specific cell surface receptors. Based on its proprietary drug discovery and drug development platform, ChemoCentryx has generated multiple clinical and preclinical-stage programs, each targeting distinct chemokine and chemoattractant receptors with different small molecule compounds. CCX140, a CCR2 inhibitor, has been shown to be safe and well tolerated while demonstrating clinical activity on glycemic indices in a Phase II clinical trial in type 2 diabetics, and is now in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. CCX168, a C5aR inhibitor, is in Phase II development for the treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). CCX168 appears to be safe, well tolerated and successful in allowing both reduction and elimination of high-dose corticosteroids, part of standard of care for AAV patients, without compromising efficacy or safety during a 12-week treatment period. Vercirnon (also known as Traficet-EN or CCX282) is a specific CCR9 inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Other clinical programs include CCX872, a next generation CCR2 inhibitor, currently in Phase I clinical development, CCX507, a next generation CCR9 inhibitor, which has successfully completed Phase I development and CCX354, a CCR1 inhibitor which successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. ChemoCentryx also has several programs in advanced preclinical development.

Forward-Looking Statements

ChemoCentryx cautions that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "could," "will," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "predict," "seek," "contemplate," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by ChemoCentryx that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the ChemoCentryx business and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and ChemoCentryx undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Further information regarding these and other risks is included under the heading "Risk Factors" in ChemoCentryx's periodic reports filed with the SEC, including ChemoCentryx's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 which is available from the SEC's website (www.sec.gov) under the heading "Investors." All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

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