SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Jade Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the election of veteran life science entrepreneur and venture capitalist Dinesh Patel, Ph.D., to the Company's Board of Directors, replacing SCI Institute Associate Director Dr. Greg Jones.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131113/PH15704LOGO )
Dr. Patel co-founded the venture capital firm vSpring Capital (now Signal Peak Ventures) in 2000 and is currently Partner Emeritus. From 1985-1999, he served as Co-Founder, Chairman, and President & CEO of TheraTech, Inc., a biotechnology company that he took public and eventually sold to Watson Pharmaceuticals for $350 million. He was also Founder, Chairman, President & CEO of Ashni Naturaceuticals, and he co-founded and was Chairman of the biotechnology company Salus Therapeutics. In addition, he served on the Board of online medical records provider MediConnect Global, Inc., which was acquired in 2012 by Verisk Analytics for $350 million.
Dr. Patel is currently Chairman of USTAR's Governing Authority board and has won numerous awards including the 2006 Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame Inductee, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Business Achiever Award, Entrepreneur of the Year (Mountain West Venture Group), and most recently BioUtah's flagship award, the Willem J. Kolff Lifetime Achievement Award.
"We are grateful to Greg for his important assistance to Jade from our company's earliest days, and we are indeed honored that Dinesh is now joining our Board," said Jade CEO Arthur Klausner. "Dinesh's wealth of experience in both drug delivery and ophthalmology represents a terrific fit for Jade as we continue to progress our locally administered, sustained-release drug products designed to treat significant ocular disorders such as corneal defects and ulcers. He is well known and respected both in the Salt Lake City area and nationally for his entrepreneurial and company-building achievements, and he has served on the Boards of numerous start-up life sciences companies."
Said Dr. Patel: "Jade represents an attractive combination of proprietary, lower-risk products addressing unmet needs in potentially blinding ophthalmic conditions. I look forward to working with the Company's Board and management team to help bring these products to the patients who need them."
About Jade Therapeutics
Jade Therapeutics, founded by Drs. Barbara Wirostko and MaryJane Rafii, is a privately held company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that develops locally administered, sustained-release formulations of (mostly) already-approved drugs for use in poorly served ophthalmic indications. This approach could enable improved therapeutic outcomes along with increased patient compliance to therapy, decreased frequency of administration and office visits, and avoidance of subsequent surgeries – ultimately resulting in better visual function with enhanced quality of life. Jade believes that its use of proprietary administration formulations of drugs that have already received regulatory approval may significantly decrease development risks and shorten the clinical trial and regulatory approval process. Jade's lead programs focus on delivering (1) recombinant human growth hormone to help address persistent corneal epithelial defects, and (2) antibiotics to treat bacterial keratitis and corneal ulcers (utilizing funding from a recently awarded National Science Foundation SBIR grant). For additional information about Jade, please visit www.jadetherapeutics.com
Contact:
Arthur Klausner
Jade Therapeutics, Inc.
646-918-7479
Email