Trophos names Rebecca Pruss chief scientific officer
Marseilles, 26th November 2002 - Trophos, a biopharmaceutical company devoted to the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases announced today that Rebecca Pruss, Ph.D., has joined Trophos as Chief Scientific Officer.
Rebecca Pruss spent 16 years with major international pharmaceutical companies, most recently with Sanofi-Synthelabo. She replaces Michel Delaage, one of the co-founders of the company, who retires.
Prior to joining Trophos, Dr. Pruss has been responsible for entering and following the clinical development of numerous drug candidates, and for managing core technologies essential to drug discovery. Rebecca Pruss received a Ph.D. in bilogical Chemistry from UCLA, postdoctoral training at University College London, and held positions at the NIH, prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry.
"We are very proud to welcome Dr. Pruss at Trophos" said Antoine Béret, CEO of Trophos. "She brings us an outstanding expertise in both neuropharmacology and drug discovery which at this stage of our development is an invaluable opportunity. Her contribution will accelerate and enhance Trophos' discovery research activity."
Michel Delaage who has teamed with Antoine Béret since they founded together Immunotech in 1982, will continue to serve on board and to advise the company.
Trophos SA is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and the marketing of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The company discovery strategy consists in recreating the neuronal degenerescence in the test tube and screening collection of chemical compounds for their ability to block these processes.
Trophos developed a portfolio of proprietary products in various stages of dvelopment from research to preclinical development; her most advanced compound, TRO19622, is scheduled to begin phase 1 clinical trials in healthy volunteers in the 4th quarter 2004. Trophos discovery and development program focuses on motoneuron diseases (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Spinal Muscular Atrophy), Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.
The company began its operations in 2000. It is located in Marseilles, France. The company has currently 30 employees.