SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achaogen, Inc. (Nasdaq:AKAO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibacterials to treat multi-drug resistant (MDR) gram-negative infections, announced today the appointments of Dr. Alan Colowick and Dr. Kent Lieginger to its Board of Directors. In conjunction with these appointments, Dr. Scott Rocklage and Camille Samuels resigned from Achaogen's Board of Directors effective March 20th, 2015.
"I wish to thank Scott and Camille for providing the Company extraordinary support and direction through the years. As our lead program, plazomicin, advances toward commercialization, it is a pleasure to welcome Alan and Kent as they bring us additional expertise across key areas such as reimbursement and international markets," commented Kenneth Hillan, Chief Executive Officer of Achaogen.
Alan B. Colowick, M.P.H., M.D., has held senior managerial positions at large and emerging biotechnology companies. Since 2010, Dr. Colowick has served in leadership roles at Celgene Corporation, where he most recently was President for the Europe, Mid-East, and Africa region from 2012 to 2014 and Senior Vice President Global Medical Affairs from 2010 to 2012. Previously, Dr. Colowick was Chief Executive Officer of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, LLC (sold to Celgene in 2010) and President, Oncology for Geron Corporation (2006-2008) where he was responsible for the strategic and operational activities of the company's oncology programs. Earlier in his career, Dr. Colowick held various management positions with Amgen Inc., including Vice President of European Medical Affairs, where he was responsible for products in multiple therapeutic areas, including hematology-oncology, nephrology and internal medicine. While at Amgen, Dr. Colowick led the team responsible for the successful registration and launch of Aranesp® in the U.S., E.U. and Australia. Dr. Colowick has previously served as a clinical and research fellow in hematology and oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard University. He holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado, an M.D. from Stanford University and an M.P.H from Harvard University.
Kent E. Lieginger, Pharm.D., has most recently served as Senior Vice President, Managed Care and Customer Operations at Genentech, Inc., as well as Director of the Genentech Foundation since 2005. He originally joined Genentech as Vice President, Managed Care and Customer Operations in 2004 and served as a member of Genentech's Commercial Leadership Committee. Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Lieginger was Vice President, National Insurer and Employer Segment (Managed Markets Division) at GlaxoSmithKline plc, where he also led teams in U.S. and global business development, finance, strategic contracting, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. He completed his residency in clinical pharmacy at the University of California in San Francisco, served for four years as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and has served on the Board of Trustees at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia since 2013.
About Achaogen
Achaogen is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company passionately committed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel antibacterials to treat MDR gram-negative infections. Achaogen is developing plazomicin, Achaogen's lead product candidate, for the treatment of serious bacterial infections due to MDR Enterobacteriaceae, including CRE. Through the Special Protocol Assessment procedure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed that the design and planned analyses of Achaogen's Phase 3 CARE trial adequately address objectives in support of a New Drug Application. Achaogen's plazomicin program is funded in part with a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. Plazomicin is the first clinical candidate from Achaogen's gram-negative antibiotic discovery engine, and Achaogen has other programs in early and late preclinical stages focused on other MDR gram-negative infections.