BioWa Appoints Spitalny Vice President, Research & Development

BioWa, Inc. has announced the appointment of George Spitalny, PhD, to Vice President, Research and Development. Dr. Spitalny will be responsible for further development of the company’s product pipeline, in particular the anti-IL-5 receptor monoclonal antibody (Mab) being developed for the treatment of non-allergic asthma recently licensed from Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Japan.

(PRWEB) April 30, 2005

BioWa, Inc. has announced the appointment of George Spitalny, PhD, to Vice President, Research and Development. Dr. Spitalny will be responsible for further development of the company’s product pipeline, in particular the anti-IL-5 receptor monoclonal antibody (Mab) being developed for the treatment of non-allergic asthma recently licensed from Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Japan. Dr. Spitalny will employ his considerable experience focusing company efforts on product initiatives, as well as formulating and implementing strategy. “We’re energized by the prospect of Dr. Spitalny leading our research and development team,” explained Dr. Nobuo Hanai, President and CEO, BioWa, Inc. “I believe that he will enable us to advance BioWa’s position in the field of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.”

Dr. Spitalny comes to BioWa from the New Jersey start-up biotechnology company EluSys Therapeutics, Inc., where he served under the same title. At EluSys Therapeutics, he and his team were credited with the development of an affinity-enhanced version of a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the lethal effects of anthrax toxin in animals. He brings with him more than 20 years experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, having held executive positions involving general management, operations, preclinical and clinical development, and the management of exploratory, discovery and preclinical research. In addition to a seven-year tenure as Director of Immunology for Bristol-Myers Squibb, highlights of Dr. Spitalny’s rich Curriculum Vitae include serving as President of the Canadian subsidiary of Select Therapeutics, Inc. and Chief Scientific Officer of TargeTech, Inc. Dr. Spitalny holds a Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University and a Doctor of Philosophy from The New York University School of Medicine, where has was later a member of its teaching faculty.

BioWa, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd., Japan’s leading pharmaceutical and largest biotech company. BioWa is the exclusive worldwide licensor of Potelligent™ Technology, a proprietary technology that creates high antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) monoclonal antibodies. A critical function of the immune system, ADCC enhances the ability of antibodies to kill tumor cells. With BioWa’s technology, that enhancement is seen up to 100 fold in vitro. Both BioWa and Kyowa have Potelligent™ antibody products in various clinical stages. Currently, BioWa is focused on developing ADCC-enhanced monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics to fight cancer, asthma and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases. In fact, BioWa’s clinical development and manufacture of a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of aspirin-induced asthma has been the subject of recent news reports. BioWa creates and develops enhanced ADCC antibodies for itself and others, offering a full range of antibody discovery and development capabilities. BioWa is located at 212 Carnegie Center, Suite 101, Princeton, New Jersey. For more information about BioWa visit its web site at http://www.biowa.com.

Potelligent™ is a registered trademark of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

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