SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FibroGen, Inc., today announced the appointment of Michael Martinelli, Ph.D., as Vice President, Technical Development. In this role, Dr. Martinelli is responsible for the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) development activities for FibroGen’s most advanced small molecule clinical candidates, including FG-4592, a first-in-class hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (PHI), in phase 2b development for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease.
Dr. Martinelli, who joined FibroGen in the first quarter of this year, brings 25 years of drug development experience from leadership roles in pharmaceutical research & development. He most recently served as Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, for Arena Pharmaceuticals in San Diego. Prior to joining Arena, he was Executive Director Research, Chemical Process & Technologies at Amgen, Inc. Earlier in his career, Dr. Martinelli held numerous roles at Eli Lilly and Company, overseeing Chemical Process Research and Development. He led the team that commercialized Cialis®, contributed to the Sensipar® launch, and completed the Lorcaserin CMC filing.
"We welcome Mike to FibroGen and are pleased to have his expertise and experience in technical development, particularly as we prepare for phase 3 development activities in our anemia program," said Thomas B. Neff, Chief Executive Officer of FibroGen. “In the near term, I look forward to Mike’s contributions in leading CMC efforts to ensure that development processes and manufacturing infrastructures are in place to support global development of FG-4592.”
Dr. Martinelli received his B.S. in chemistry from the State University of New York at Geneseo and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Wesleyan University.
About FibroGen
FibroGen, Inc. was founded to discover and develop anti-fibrotic therapeutics. Using its expertise in the field of tissue fibrosis, in particular with matricellular proteins such as CTGF, and matrix assembly enzymes such as prolyl hydroxylases, FibroGen now is engaged in clinical development of anti-CTGF therapy and prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors for serious unmet medical needs. Current and planned clinical trials of FG-3019 will study the potential of anti-CTGF therapy to reverse liver and lung fibrosis and to improve clinical outcomes in pancreatic cancer. From its large proprietary library of prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors, FibroGen is developing multiple prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors designed to selectively activate HIF biology for the treatment of anemia, and elicit a rapid, multi-factorial, cytoprotective response for treating or preventing conditions resulting from acute ischemic injury and/or inflammation, including cardioprotection and inflammatory bowel disease, among others. FibroGen also develops and produces recombinant human collagens and gelatins using proprietary production technology that permits making collagen essentially identical to the native protein. Development of medical devices, such as corneal implants fabricated with recombinant human collagen Type III, is ongoing.
For more information about FibroGen, Inc., please visit www.fibrogen.com.
CONTACT:
FibroGen
Laura Hansen, Ph.D., 415-978-1433
Director, Corporate Communications
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Biotechnology Oncology Pharmaceutical
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