In Memoriam - Friend, Scientific Innovator and Leader Dr. Dale B. Schenk has Passed Away
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
DUBLIN, Ireland, Sept. 30, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prothena Corporation plc
(Nasdaq:PRTA), announced today that its Co-founder, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Dr. Dale B. Schenk, passed away this morning, after
confronting his pancreatic cancer with the same courage, determination and humor
that pervaded all areas of his life.
"Dale was a dear friend and colleague, and the broader scientific community has
lost an incredibly innovative and creative leader," stated Lars G. Ekman, MD,
PhD, Chairman of the Prothena Board of Directors. "Dale will be remembered not
only for his pioneering work in protein immunotherapy that laid the foundation
for many of today's most promising therapeutic approaches, but also as a
courageous scientist and business leader with a terrific sense of humor. His
infinite energy and passion for applying scientific discoveries toward the
development of new medicines for untreatable diseases leaves a lasting legacy to
science and patients, and will continue to inspire us. On behalf of the Board
of Directors, Prothena management team and employees, we deeply mourn his loss
and extend our sympathies to his family."
The Board is meeting shortly regarding succession and an announcement will
follow.
Dr. Schenk began his career as a researcher and pioneered the immunotherapeutic
approach for the treatment of protein misfolding diseases, as exemplified by
Alzheimer's disease; his groundbreaking approaches to understanding neurological
diseases have brought about advances in the broader pharmaceutical industry.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Schenk inspired and mentored dozens of
scientists, and his approach to research and development was characterized by
creativity, collaboration, and determination. Under his leadership at Prothena,
the Company has advanced a new class of protein immunotherapies that seek to
fight devastating diseases including AL amyloidosis and Parkinson's disease.
Prior to founding Prothena, Dr. Schenk was executive vice president and chief
scientific officer of Elan. Notably, he was the lead researcher on Elan's
experimental vaccine designed to fight Alzheimer's, with groundbreaking work
that earned him the coveted Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of
Neurology (AAN). When he won the award, it was the first time that the honor had
been bestowed on an industry scientist.
About Prothena
Prothena Corporation plc is a global, late-stage clinical biotechnology company
seeking to fundamentally change the course of progressive diseases with its
clinical pipeline of novel therapeutic antibodies. Fueled by its deep scientific
understanding built over decades of research in protein misfolding and cell
adhesion - the root causes of many serious or currently untreatable amyloid and
inflammatory diseases - Prothena is establishing a fully integrated research,
development and commercial focus and has advanced several drug candidates into
clinical studies while pursuing discovery of additional novel therapies. Our
pipeline of antibody-based product candidates targets a number of potential
indications including AL amyloidosis (NEOD001), Parkinson's disease and other
related synucleinopathies (PRX002), inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis
and psoriatic arthritis (PRX003), and ATTR amyloidosis (PRX004). For more
information, please visit the company's website at www.prothena.com.
Contacts:
Investors: Tran Nguyen, CFO
650-837-8535, IR(at)prothena.com
Media: Ellen Rose, Head of Communications
650-922-2405, ellen.rose(at)prothena.com
This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Prothena Corporation plc via GlobeNewswire
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 30.09.2016 - 20:50 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 498193
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contact information:
Town:
DUBLIN
Kategorie:
Business News
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