ROCHESTER, Minn. — August 5, 2016 — Vyriad Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company focused on the development of cancer virotherapies, today announced the appointment of Alice S. Bexon, MD, as Chief Medical Officer.
In addition, the company has signed a contract services agreement with Bexon Clinical Consulting, a company founded by Dr. Bexon, to provide support services in clinical development, regulatory strategy, and quality management.
“We are delighted to welcome Alice to our leadership team as we ramp up our drug development efforts,” said Stephen Russell, MD, PhD, CEO of Vyriad. “Alice’s industry experience in bringing lead assets from preclinical development to FDA approval will be invaluable as we advance our virotherapy medicines through pivotal registration trials and regulatory approval. We look forward to Alice’s contributions and to leveraging the expertise of Bexon Clinical’s cohesive team in support of our mission to develop potent, safe, and cost-effective cancer virotherapies in areas of unmet medical need.”
As CMO for Vyriad, Dr. Bexon’s primary responsibility will be to oversee the development of Vyriad’s growing pipeline of novel cancer virotherapy products derived from the company’s VSV (vesicular stomatitis virus) and MV-NIS (an attenuated strain of measles virus) oncolytic virotherapy platforms, as well as developing companion diagnostics in parallel with the clinical program.
“I am excited to join the team of experts at Vyriad,” said Dr. Bexon. “Immuno-oncology has changed our approach to late-stage cancer, and the time is right for oncolytic virotherapy to come into its own. When you select the right patients, virotherapy can be used as monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. Our strategy is to leverage the immune system to achieve cures in the not-so-distant future.”
Dr. Bexon brings to Vyriad more than 20 years of management experience in clinical development of biopharmaceuticals, including management of multi-site clinical trials and FDA approval of lead assets. Prior to founding Bexon Clinical Consulting, Dr. Bexon was Vice President of Clinical Development of Idera Pharmaceuticals, from 2007-2009. From 2001-2006, she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Roche Oncology, including serving as a key member of the clinical development and life cycle team responsible for Xeloda®. Dr. Bexon earned her medical degree from Bristol University Medical School in the United Kingdom.
About Bexon Consulting
Established in 2008, Bexon Clinical Consulting, LLC is a strategic clinical consulting service that is owned and run by physicians. Their core team has the skills necessary to manage each stage of clinical development, from early Phase 1 trials through to regulatory approval and post-marketing. Each member of the 30-strong team has between 10 and 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. They work with a wide range of products, e.g., biologics, pharmaceuticals, devices, diagnostics, vaccines and cell-based therapies. Bexon Clinical offers advice on and coordinates development of new therapies in oncology and other therapeutic areas. They plan, write and implement protocols for all phases of clinical trials through reporting and submission. Bexon Clinical also provides pharmacovigilance and medical monitoring services. Their approach delivers a cohesive clinical and regulatory strategy, managing global regulatory processes. Bexon Clinical’s regulatory operations affiliate, eCTDSubmit, is fully equipped to collate, compile, publish and submit eCTD dossiers through the FDAs ESG and in Europe (and the UK).
About Vyriad
Vyriad is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel oncolytic virus therapies for the treatment of cancers that have significant unmet need. Vyriad’s oncolytic immunovirotherapy products are based on the company’s engineered Oncolytic Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) and Oncolytic Measles Virus platforms that enable selective destruction of cancer cells without harming normal tissues. Vyriad’s product development pipeline encompasses multiple clinical- and preclinical-stage programs that target a broad range of cancer indications as well as programs that pair the company’s oncolytic viruses with other cancer immunotherapy modalities, traditional cancer therapy, and newer targeted therapies. In addition, Vyriad is developing novel diagnostic/ theranostic tests for more accurate prediction of immunovirotherapy response. Clinical trials using the company’s oncolytic viruses are under way at Mayo Clinic and the University of Arkansas. For more information, please visit www.vyriad.com.
Media Inquiries
For inquiries, please contact mediarelations@vyriad.com