WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc. (X-Biotix), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of multiple novel antibiotic first-in-class compounds targeting multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogens, announced that David N. Cook Ph.D. has been elected to its Board of Directors. Dr. Cook is an accomplished executive in the industry with extensive experience in the areas of the microbiome and bacterial targeting. In addition, the company announced the appointment of Boudewijn DeJonge Ph.D., as Senior Director of Biology. Dr. DeJonge is a distinguished scientist and team leader with extensive discovery and development experience in the area of infectious diseases.
“I am very pleased that we are expanding the Board of Directors and the leadership team at X-Biotix with the addition of David and Boudewijn, at a time when we’re rapidly advancing the preclinical development of multiple first-in-class compounds,” said Ramani Varanasi, President & CEO. “Their collective experience and broad expertise in the field of infectious diseases and the bacterial targeting will add tremendous value to X-Biotix’s ability to efficiently translate our discoveries into a pipeline of assets that address a broad range of unmet clinical needs.”
Dr. Cook has over 30 years of experience in the biopharma industry with experience in therapeutics, vaccines, small molecules, and biologics. Specifically, he has worked on programs covering indications spanning infectious disease, vaccines, inflammation and immunology, and immuno-oncology. He was most recently the Chief Scientific Officer at Seres Therapeutics, where he was responsible for defining research strategy and advancing key pipeline programs targeting the microbiome. Prior to his role at Seres, Dr. Cook was EVP and COO at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, where he led the senior management team and oversaw the organization’s strategy for ensuring the development of an AIDS vaccine for global use. Over the span of his career, he has been involved in all aspects of product development including discovery research, clinical trials, regulatory affairs, manufacturing, business development, intellectual property and corporate operations, and has been directly responsible for obtaining the EU marketing authorization for four novel medical products.
“Since their initial financing in 2018, X-Biotix has made great progress with their programs in a critical area of global unmet medical need. I’ve been deeply impressed with the accomplishments in multiple pipeline programs in infectious disease that may be widely leveraged to address areas where pathogenic bacteria may play a causative role,” said Dr. Cook. “I look forward to working with the team in their pursuit of developing effective antibiotics for patients non-responsive and resistant to traditional therapies and to further building the value of the company.”
With over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical sector, Dr. DeJonge brings to the X-Biotix team his expertise in anti-bacterial drug discovery and development with specialty in areas of microbial physiology, bacterial resistance, cell envelope, and mode of action of compounds. He was previously Director of Microbiology at Pfizer, where he was responsible for providing clinical microbiology support in the development of antibiotic products during late-stage clinical development. Boudewijn has participated in and led multi-disciplinary teams at all phases of anti-bacterial drug discovery and development, from target identification to NDA filing. Prior to his role at Pfizer, Boudewijn was an Associate Director at AstraZeneca, where he led the microbiology efforts to support programs in discovery and development and was involved in the evaluation of external opportunities for in-licensing in the antibacterial area, spanning projects from early discovery to Phase 2 clinical development.
“I am excited to be joining X-Biotix at this time as they aggressively advance their novel pipeline programs through preclinical development,” said Dr. DeJonge. “Healthcare globally is in desperate need of truly novel classes of antibiotics, and I look forward to supporting the translation of X-Biotix’s early data on first-in-class antibiotic leads into candidates that have the potential to advance into the clinic in the near term.”
Gram-negative multi-drug-resistant infections represent a critical unmet medical need, with over 2 million drug resistant infections in the US each year. A report recently released by the World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, antibiotic resistance could cause 10 million deaths each year, surpassing the projected number of deaths due to cancer. The landscape for commercialization of novel antibacterial therapies is rapidly evolving, and there remains a large market opportunity for both broad and narrow spectrum agents that target novel pathways without cross-resistance to existing antibiotics. There is a particularly acute need for agents that address multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens implicated in sepsis, hospital and ventilator acquired pneumonia (HAP and VAP), and other complicated hospital-acquired and community-based infections.
About X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc.
X-Biotix is a discovery
and development company, with a focus on delivering the next generation
of antibiotics to combat multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens.
The company, incorporated in 2016 and located in Waltham, MA., is
advancing multiple first-in-class small molecule compounds, identified
using a unique DNA-encoded library platform, against a wide range of
bacterial targets in essential pathways, which are predicted to defeat
known antibiotics resistance mechanisms.
For further information on
X-Biotix, please visit: http://www.x-biotixrx.com/
