NEWARK, DE--(Marketwired - Sep 2, 2014) - iBio, Inc. (
Dr. Medsger is an internationally recognized expert in systemic sclerosis and localized scleroderma. He will provide iBio with guidance on the further development and commercialization of the company's novel drug candidate, IBIO-CFB03, for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), systemic sclerosis (SSc), and other fibrotic diseases.
"The appointment of Dr. Medsger as a clinical advisor brings us unparalleled experience and knowledge in the history of systemic sclerosis clinical research and the current state of the art," said Terence Ryan, Ph.D., iBio's chief scientific officer. "We look forward to working with Dr. Medsger to design successful clinical trials with clinically meaningful outcomes."
iBio is developing IBIO-CFB03 for IPF, SSc, and other fibrotic diseases in collaboration with Dr. Feghali-Bostwick at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Data published in 2012 by Dr. Feghali-Bostwick demonstrate that specific endostatin-derived peptides are useful for both inhibition and reversal of fibrosis in preclinical mouse models of fibrosis as well as in human skin. iBio has produced the active pharmaceutical ingredient in plants using its patented iBioLaunch™ technology, and has made clinical development of this promising product a key priority in the proprietary application of iBioLaunch technology.
"I like the approach iBio is taking with development of Dr. Feghali-Bostwick's important research discoveries," said Dr. Medsger. "I believe this program holds great promise for patients, and I look forward to helping iBio achieve its practical objectives for an effective fibrosis treatment."
Dr. Medsger's research focuses on the epidemiology, clinical and laboratory features and natural history of systemic sclerosis and localized forms of scleroderma, Raynaud disease and polymyositis/dermatomyositis. He held the Gerald P. Rodnan Chair/Professorship at the University of Pittsburgh where he was also the director of the Scleroderma Center in the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology and led the establishment of an internationally renowned program.
Dr. Medsger and his collaborators have described many serologic subsets of systemic sclerosis and localized scleroderma, their distinctive clinical findings, survival and immunogenetic associations. He has developed a systemic sclerosis disease severity index and has proposed criteria for the classification of early systemic sclerosis. Dr. Medsger is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Other members of the iBio's clinical advisory board include Richard M. Silver, M.D., one of the world's leaders in clinical care and investigation of systemic sclerosis, Timothy Blackwell, M.D., an internationally recognized expert in IPF and other lung diseases, and Dr. J. Terrill Huggins, a leading clinical investigator in the field of IPF.
About Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Systemic Sclerosis
IPF is a life-shortening lung disease with a rapidly progressing negative impact on quality of life leading to death within an average of three to five years after diagnosis. IPF has a worse survival rate than most cancers except for pancreatic cancer and certain lung cancers. According to GlobalData, the market across the U.S. and European Union for IPF therapy is expected to grow from $49 million in 2012 to more than $1.1 billion by 2017 for already existing therapies.
Systemic sclerosis is a disorder that affects connective tissue of skin and internal organs as well as the walls of blood vessels. Early diagnosis and individualized therapy can be helpful, but treatment of systemic sclerosis is limited to symptom management. No currently approved drug has been proven to arrest the underlying process or processes that drive progression of the disease. Organ fibrosis is responsible for health care costs exceeding $10 billion per year, and it is estimated that the number of deaths due to fibrosis is double the number of deaths due to cancer. Organ fibrosis is responsible for nearly half of deaths in developed countries and results in significant physical, emotional, and financial burdens as well.
About iBio, Inc.
iBio is developing a proprietary product, IBIO-CFB03, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and other fibrotic diseases using its iBioLaunch™ platform. The company also offers proprietary products and product licenses to others, based on its proprietary iBioLaunch and iBioModulator™ platforms, providing collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for protein therapeutics and vaccines. In Brazil, iBio has been collaborating with Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) since 2011 to develop a recombinant yellow fever vaccine based upon iBio technology.
The iBioLaunch platform is a proprietary, transformative technology for development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in unmodified green plants. The iBioModulator platform is complementary to the iBioLaunch platform and designed to significantly improve vaccine products with both higher potency and greater duration of effect. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.
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