iCo Therapeutics Appoints Expert in Immunology and Ophthalmology as Chief Scientific Officer
July 19, 2005
VANCOUVER, July 19 /CNW/ – iCo Therapeutics Inc. announced today the appointment of Professor Santa Jeremy Ono, a leading authority in the fields of immunology and ophthalmology, as Chief Scientific Officer.
Prof. Ono currently serves as GlaxoSmithKline Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University College, University of London, and Chair of Immunology, UCL-Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital (the world’s first and largest eye research and treatment centre). Past appointments include: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pathology & Biology at Johns Hopkins University and Associate Professor & Director of the Immunity, Inflammation and Transplantation Group at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School.
Prof. Ono has directed multiple research and development programs, many of which have been in partnership with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He has served on the Medical Advisory Board of the UK Medical Research Council and Immunological Sciences Panel of the US National Institute of Health. Prof. Ono received degrees from the University of Chicago (BA) and McGill University (PhD) and was a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow at Harvard University. He serves on many editorial boards, is involved with numerous professional societies and associations, and has more than eighty publications to his credit. Among his many honors, he was elected International Fellow of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, received the Pharmacia International Award in Allergy Research, and has been inducted into the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum.
“Prof. Ono’s extensive knowledge and experience and his international network of colleagues within the fields of ophthalmology and immunology will greatly contribute to iCo’s goal to search for and develop existing therapies to treat ocular diseases,” stated Andrew Rae, President and CEO of iCo Therapeutics. “Prof. Ono’s pedigree is truly world class and representative of the caliber of senior management we will continue to recruit.”
iCo seeks out and develops or modifies approved or near-approved therapies to treat a variety of conditions within isolated biological environments. Because the drugs have already been through extensive preclinical and clinical testing, and in some cases regulatory approval, development risk and time to commercialization is significantly decreased.
“I am pleased to take on this important role with iCo Therapeutics,” said Prof. Ono. “The management team at iCo Therapeutics is well known and respected and I am looking forward to working closely with my new colleagues to bring patients promising medicines that might otherwise go undeveloped for specific indications.”
