Date: 2016-01-19
Type of information: Nomination
Compound:
Company: Akcea Therapeutics (USA - CA)
Therapeutic area: Cardiovascular diseases - Metabolic diseases
Type agreement: nomination
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Details: * On January 19, 2016, Akcea Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Ionis Pharmaceuticals focused on developing and commercializing new treatments for serious cardiometabolic diseases, announced the appointment of Louis St. L. O'Dea, as the company's Chief Medical Officer. Dr. O'Dea will lead medical, clinical, and regulatory functions in support of volanesorsen and will also guide development of earlier stage compounds in the Akcea portfolio. Volanesorsen is currently in Phase 3 trials for two rare, genetic diseases. Dr. O'Dea has led 13 clinical new drug applications (NDAs), including for four orphan drugs and the approval of one medical device. His experience spans the development of protein therapeutics, peptides, small molecules and nucleotides, as well as a broad range of devices and routes of administration. Prior to joining Akcea, Dr. O'Dea was Chief Medical Officer at Oxford Immunotec. Prior to that role, he was Chief Medical Officer and Head of Regulatory Affairs at Moderna Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on messenger RNA-based therapeutics. Before Moderna, Dr. O'Dea was Chief Medical Officer at Radius Health, where he brought a number of molecules through clinical development, including abaloparatide. Dr. O'Dea joined industry from an academic position at McGill University and began his pharmaceutical career at EMD Serono, where he played a major role in the successful development of its reproductive and metabolic disease portfolios. There he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility, including Chief Medical Officer for Japan and Oceania and worldwide Head of Clinical Development for Endocrine and Metabolic products. Dr. O'Dea is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and in endocrinology and metabolism in the United States and Canada. He received his MB, BCh, and BAO degrees from University College in Dublin, Ireland, followed by postgraduate training in internal medicine and endocrinology at McGill University and a research and clinical fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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