SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading BioSciences, Inc. (LBS), a development stage pharmaceutical company focused on novel treatments in the critical care of acute shock and Multiple Organ Failure (MOF), today announced that Robin M. Jackman, Ph.D., has been named Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Jackman succeeds Dr. Stephen Flaim, who was serving as interim CEO and now returns to his post as company Chairman. LBS additionally announced the appointment of Dr. Tom Hallam as Vice President, Therapeutic Development.
"Leading BioSciences is advancing a revolutionary platform whose initial focus is the treatment and prevention of Multiple Organ Failure, a condition most commonly associated with severe sepsis," said Dr. Flaim. "We are delighted that Dr. Jackman has joined Leading BioSciences with his proven and successful track record as an early-stage biotech executive. With the additions of both Robin and Tom, we have the right team to advance our lead therapeutic LB1148 into Phase 2 clinical studies both nationally and internationally."
A 20-year biopharmaceutical industry veteran, Robin was most recently President and CEO of Zacharon Pharmaceuticals where he successfully led the venture-backed startup from financing through new orphan drug program development, multiple new partnerships, and on to a sale of the company last year to BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. Previously Dr. Jackman was Senior Vice President at Vical where he ran the oncology division, which included completing a first-in-human exploratory Phase 1 clinical study, as well as launching and enrolling a Phase 3 worldwide registration clinical trial encompassing over 120 clinical sites in 15 countries. Early in his career he was an investment banker with the life-science unit at BankAmerica Robertson Stephens where he provided strategic and financing services to companies ranging from small venture-backed startups to large multinational pharmaceuticals. Robin holds graduate degrees from Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
"Leading BioSciences is developing a remarkable platform with novel and fundamental insights into the underlying mechanisms of several serious conditions," stated Dr. Jackman. With the promise of our early clinical data, I am looking forward to advancing our treatment for MOF into an efficacy study in these critically ill patients with severe sepsis and septic shock."
Additional New Appointment
LBS also recently expanded its management team with the addition of Dr. Tom Hallam to the newly created position of Vice President, Therapeutic Development.
Dr. Hallam previously served as the Director of Therapeutic Programs and New Product Development Head for Mesoblast Inc., where he directed commercialization strategy and product development of adult stem cell products. Prior to Mesoblast, he was a Manager in the San Francisco office of C1 Consulting, an integrated marketing and commercial strategy consulting firm that focuses on helping pharmaceutical companies launch and commercialize new products. Prior to joining C1 Consulting, he served as a Medical Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare in New York, NY. Prior to that, he was the Pharmacology Group Leader at Helicon Therapeutics where he directed research operations for US locations and managed global CRO operations. Tom has a broad base of experience including rotations at every level of pre-clinical research and clinical development, successfully advancing 8 drugs from pre-clinical research to phase II clinical trials. Tom has served as a consultant and advisor to some of the world’s leading healthcare companies, including Roche/Genentech, Pfizer, Sanofi, Astra-Zeneca, Bausch & Lomb, Somaxon, CogMed, Pearson, Dart Neuroscience, and Ogilvy CommonHealth. He is a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research fellow, having received a PhD in Neuroscience from UC Davis and an MBA from USC.
"The addition of Dr. Hallam is a critical advancement in the company's ability to manage and progress the clinical and regulatory efforts of LB1148," said Dr. Flaim. "Dr. Hallam's experience with the FDA regulatory process, clinical trial design, as well as clinical strategy will be extremely valuable as the company prepares for the start of our Phase 2 clinical study."
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About Leading BioSciences, Inc.
Leading BioSciences is a development-stage, critical care company initially focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) as a result of severe sepsis and shock, a condition with a high mortality rate and very few therapeutic options. The Company’s lead technology is LB1148, a therapy designed to prevent the onset of shock and MOF via the direct administration of a proprietary cocktail into the stomach and lumen of the intestine. Pre-clinical research demonstrated that under conditions of shock, digestive enzymes permeate the wall of the intestine and enter the bloodstream, leading to multi-organ failure and death. LB1148 is the lead product of a new platform “Autodigestion”. Autodigestion is the process by which the body begins to digest itself as digestive enzymes permeate the wall of the small intestine. Autodigestion impacts several different disease states. Complementing LB1148, the Company is developing a companion diagnostic technology, AnaZyme, that uses either breath or blood samples to measure the presence and severity of autodigestion due to shock, and InflammaGen Lavage, a therapeutic for use in open wounds and areas of infection in the peritoneal cavity. For additional information on Leading Biosciences, please visit http://leadingbiosciences.com.