On May 30, 2018 AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZRX) ("AzurRx" or the "Company"), a company specializing in the development of non-systemic, recombinant therapies for gastrointestinal diseases, reported the appointment of Dr. James Pennington as the Company’s Chief Medical Officer (Press release, AzurRx BioPharma, MAY 30, 2018, View Source [SID1234526949]).
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"We are delighted to welcome Jim to the senior management team as we rapidly advance our clinical programs," commented Thijs Spoor, CEO of AzurRx BioPharma. "Jim is a highly accomplished pharmaceutical industry executive with extensive medical and clinical experience, as well as hands-on experience in regulatory affairs. His appointment is timely as 2018 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for AzurRx, with a number of upcoming and potentially value enhancing milestones including the initiation of the MS1819 Phase 2 study in cystic fibrosis patients and the filing of the investigational drug application ("IND") in the U.S. for MS1819. We look forward to Jim’s leadership and contributions as these programs move forward."
"I am excited to join the AzurRx team at this exciting time for the Company," said Dr. Pennington. "We look forward to initiating a cystic fibrosis study later this year. MS1819, which has generated promising interim results in the ongoing study in chronic pancreatitis patients, addresses a billion-dollar market in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. It has the potential to become best in class due to the high pill burden, patient compliance issues, and manufacturing/supply chain challenges of the current animal-derived therapies."
Dr. Pennington brings over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He served as Vice President at Bayer Corporation where, under his direct supervision, Bayer received ten product approvals from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") and ten product approvals from foreign regulatory authorities. Dr. Pennington also held senior positions at multiple therapeutics companies, including CMO roles at Anthera Pharmaceuticals and CoTherix Inc. and Senior VP of Research, Development and Clinical Affairs at Alpha Therapeutics Corp. Dr. Pennington has participated in many FDA pre-IND meetings and has also participated in several FDA Advisory Panel meetings. He has served on various editorial boards as well as professional societies, such as the American Association of the Advancement of Science. He is involved in academia and is currently Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Pennington holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and an M.D. from the University of Oregon Medical School and is Board Certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases.