EXCALIARD INITIATES PHASE 2 TRIALS IN U.S. FOR ITS SKIN SCARRING DRUG, EXC 001
CARLSBAD, Calif, January 5, 2010 - Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of three proof of concept Phase 2 trials of EXC 001, an antisense medicine that reduces fibrosis, for the amelioration of skin scarring and other fibrotic disorders. The U.S. multicenter trials will test the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of EXC 001 in two different models to evaluate the improvement of the appearance of scars in subjects undergoing elective abdominoplasty surgery and revision of scars associated with prior breast surgery.
“The prevention and treatment of unsatisfactory skin scarring remains an important unmet medical need” said Lincoln Krochmal, MD, CEO & President of Excaliard Pharmaceuticals. “Unsatisfactory skin scarring can be associated with various dermatologic conditions such as hypertrophic scars and keloids, elective and reconstructive surgery, traumatic wounds, Caesarian sections and burns. We are delighted with our Phase 1 study results indicating EXC 001 delivered locally has a very impressive safety profile. We look forward to further evaluating the safety and efficacy of our novel therapeutic in Phase 2 trials for conditions in which the amelioration of scarring post-operatively would be highly desirable by the patient.”
“EXC 001 is a second generation antisense medicine that inhibits fibrosis. In a variety of animal models of scar formation, EXC 001 has demonstrated significant and reproducible reductions in skin scar formation,” said Nicholas Dean, PhD., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “EXC 001 is an exciting and novel approach to reducing skin scarring, and represents the first time an antisense medicine has been used for this significant, unmet medical need.”
EXCALIARD PHARMACEUTICALS APPOINTS LINCOLN KROCHMAL, MD, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND JEFFREY JENSEN, HEAD OF CLINICAL OPERATIONS.
CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 10, 2008 - Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, a late stagge preclinical company developing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of dermatological disorders and fibrotic diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lincoln Krochmal, MD, as President & Chief Executive Officer and Jeff Jensen as Head of Clinical Operations.
Dr. Lincoln Krochmal is a board certified Dermatologist with over 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. Prior to joining Excaliard in September of 2008, Dr. Krochmal served as Executive Vice President, Research and Product Development for Connetics Corporation, a specialty dermatology company headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, until the company’s acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. Dr. Krochmal began his industrial career with Westwood Pharmaceuticals (the dermatology subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb) becoming VP, Dermatology Research & Development and VP, Worldwide Medical Development. He then joined Unilever PLC, where he spent the next decade in various executive management positions including SVP, Home and Personal Care Research & Development directing the worldwide development of numerous consumer products including helping to build the Dove® brand to a $ 2 billion dollar global business.
During his career, Dr. Krochmal has played a pivotal role in the approval of 15 NDAs/ANDAs for new topical dermatologicals including LacHydrin®, Ultravate®, Dovonex®, Evoclin®, Verdeso®, Olux-E® and Extina® and numerous OTC and consumer goods in the US and internationally.
Dr. Krochmal received his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and is board certified in dermatology. Dr. Krochmal serves on the board of directors for the International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology and Quinnova Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, a Diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology, a member of the International Society of Dermatology and the Dermatology Foundation.
Isis and Excaliard Collaborate to Develop Antisense Drugs for Local Treatment of Fibrotic Diseases
CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 27. 2007 -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IISIS) and Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today a new collaboration to discover and develop antisense drugs for the local treatment of fibrotic diseases, including scarring. Isis has granted Excaliard an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialization of certain antisense drugs. Excaliard made an upfront payment to Isis in the form of equity and paid Isis $1 million cash for the licensing of a particular gene target. In addition, Isis is eligible to receive development milestones and royalties on antisense drugs developed by Excaliard.
"Isis has made superb progress in the development of second-generation antisense drugs over the last few years, as evidenced by its clinical pipeline and current collaborations with companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Ortho-McNeil among others. Having access to Isis' antisense technology and expertise provides a great opportunity for Excaliard," said J. Gordon Foulkes, Ph.D., acting CEO for Excaliard and Managing Director of RiverVest Venture Partners, who co-founded Excaliard and provided the initial seed funding for the company.
Excaliard closed a $15.5 million Series A financing, co-led by Alta Partners, ProQuest Investments, and RiverVest Venture Partners, with Farah Champsi, Alain Schreiber and Gordon Foulkes respectively joining the Board of Directors. "It is a pleasure to once again be working with Isis, the leader in the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics," stated Nicholas Dean, Ph.D., co-founder and CSO of Excaliard. Dr. Dean was formerly Vice President of Oncology and Functional Genomics at Isis. "Fibrosis represents a significant and expanding area of unmet medical need, and we believe that antisense offers unique advantages in this area for developing a completely new class of anti-fibrotic agents. Excaliard plans to exploit this exciting opportunity by rapidly moving multiple antisense drugs into clinical development."
"The broad applicability of our antisense technology enables us to build a substantial and diverse pipeline of antisense drugs. In order to maximize the value of this technology, a key component of our business strategy is to enter into promising partnerships that provide tremendous growth opportunities for antisense drugs in diseases that are outside of our main therapeutic areas, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," said B. Lynne Parshall, Executive Vice President and CFO of Isis. "Excaliard will benefit from access to our technology and intellectual property and join a growing list of partners who have focused teams dedicated to advancing antisense drugs and who enable us to continue to expand the breadth of our antisense drug pipeline."
