Dynavax Names Daniel Levitt Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Contact:
Dino Dina, M.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dynavax Technologies Corporation
(510) 848-5100
Berkeley, CA - August 4, 2003 - Dynavax Technologies Corporation today announced the appointment of Daniel Levitt, M.D., Ph.D., to the position of vice president and chief medical officer. He will be responsible for Dynavax's clinical, regulatory, and medical affairs.
Dr. Levitt joins Dynavax from Affymax, where he was chief operating officer and head, research and development. Before joining Affymax, Dr. Levitt was senior vice president, drug development, and then president, research and development, at Protein Design Labs, Inc. Prior to Protein Design Labs, he had a successful and progressive career in scientific management, clinical, and regulatory affairs at Geron, Sandoz, and Hoffman-LaRoche. His academic appointments included the Guthrie Research Institute in Sayre, Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics. He graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University, earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in biology from the University of Chicago, completed his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and was a clinical and research fellow at the University of Alabama Medical Center.
About Dynavax
Dynavax Technologies is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products to treat allergy, inflammation-mediated diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer. The company's lead products are based on ImmunoStimulatory DNA Sequences (ISS), short DNA sequences that enhance the ability of the immune system to fight disease and prevent inflammation. Dynavax's two most advanced products, both nearing completion of Phase II clinical trials, include an ISS-based next-generation vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis B and AIC, an immunotherapy treatment for ragweed allergy. Dynavax is also conducting clinical trials for ISS-based treatments for cancer and asthma, and has an oral TNF-alpha synthesis inhibitor in preclinical development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A company profile is available at the Dynavax website, www.dynavax.com.