MARSEILLE, France, Oct. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VECT-HORUS, a biotechnology company that designs and develops peptide vectors facilitating the delivery of drugs or imaging agents, notably in the brain, announced today the appointment of Dr. Jamal Temsamani as Director in charge of Drug Development & Corporate. He will lead the Company's drug development programs from discovery to early clinical and will be in charge of industrial partnerships. Dr. Jamal Temsamani is also a member of the Management Committee of VECT-HORUS.
Alexandre Tokay, CEO of VECT-HORUS, said: "While VECT-HORUS is initiating its first preclinical regulatory trial with one of its vector-candidates, we are very pleased to welcome Jamal Temsamani, who will be a major asset for the development of the Company. Dr. Jamal Temsamani has over 20 years' experience in the management of R&D and the development of academic partnerships and research collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry. He joins VECT-HORUS after several years of experience in the field of drug delivery using peptide vectors. He is a great addition to the senior management team of the Company. "
Dr. Jamal Temsamani said: "Joining VECT-HORUS is an exciting challenge considering its stage of development. The proprietary technological approach of VECT-HORUS, the scientific expertise of its team and its "pharma" business culture are undisputable advantages. I join the team with confidence knowing the major needs of the pharmaceutical industry for technological solutions that will allow both existing products and new drug-candidates to cross the blood brain barrier to treat brain diseases.
Dr. Temsamani obtained his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Montpellier. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the Worcester Foundation For Experimental Biology (MA, USA), he joined IDERA Pharmaceuticals (MA, USA), where he served as Associate-Director and then as Director of the Discovery group. Then, he held several positions, including as Vice President of R&D at Synt:em (Nimes) and CLL Pharma (Nice).
He has a strong scientific expertise in the field of pharmacology and preclinical development. He has published more than 60 scientific articles and is co-inventor of 40 patents.
About VECT-HORUS
VECT-HORUS is a French biotechnology company that designs and develops peptide-vectors that facilitate the delivery of drugs or imaging agents to specific cells and organs, in particular the brain. By combining pharmaceutical agents to its peptide-vectors designed to target specific receptors, VECT-HORUS promotes delivery of these agents to target cells or organs and allows them to cross natural barriers such as the blood-brain barrier that significantly impede brain delivery. The highly specific and stable vectors identified and validated by VECT HORUS are protected by several families of patents and patent applications. The company has already demonstrated proof of concept of the technology in animal models by vectorizing an endogenous neuropeptide thus generating a new therapeutic agent with neuroprotective effects. Its first product-candidate is about to enter into regulatory preclinical trial by the end of 2014.
Founded in 2005 VECT-HORUS is a spin-off from the CNRS-Aix Marseille University NICN UMR 7529 laboratory directed by Dr. Michel Khrestchatisky. Its founders are Alexandre Tokay, CEO, and Michel Khrestchatisky, Scientific Council. VECT-HORUS has 17 employees (most in R&D) and has secured EUR 11 million in equity and subsidies.
For more information, visit http://www.vect-horus.com
Contacts :
Alexandre TOKAY, CEO : + 33 6 30 40 36 95 - alexandre.tokay@vect-horus.com
ATCG Press : Judith Aziza, +33 6 70 07 77 51 / Marielle Bricman, +33 6 26 94 18 53 - presse@atcg-partners.com
PR nomination Dr Jamal Temsamani http://hugin.info/164689/R/1867307/656105.pdf
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