Dynavax Names New Vice Presidents
Contact:
Dino Dina, M.D.
President and CEO
Dynavax Technologies Corporation
(510) 848-5100 or (877) 848-5100
Berkeley, CA, December 6, 2000 - Dynavax Technologies Corporation today announced that it has named three new vice presidents, including Robert Lee Coffman, Ph.D., as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer; Stephen F. Tuck, Ph.D., as Vice President, Biopharmaceutical Development; and Gary Van Nest, Ph.D., Vice President, pre-clinical research.
"These three appointments strengthen Dynavax's management resources as we prepare to enter new products into clinical trials in the coming year," said Dino Dina, M.D., Dynavax President and Chief Executive Officer. "Dr. Coffman's expertise in immunology will assist us as we continue to develop new applications of our lead technology platform in Immunostimulatory Sequences (ISS) to treat a range of allergies, inflammation-mediated diseases, infectious diseases and cancer. We are also pleased to announce the promotions of Drs. Tuck and Van Nest, in recognition of their contributions to Dynavax's growth and success to date."
Dr. Coffman, 54, joins Dynavax from the DNAX Research Institute where he has been since 1981, most recently as Distinguished Research Fellow. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University Medical School. Dr. Coffman has made fundamental discoveries about the regulation of immune responses in allergic and infectious diseases. He shared, with colleague Dr. Tim Mosmann, the William S. Coley Award for Research in Immunology for discovery of the Th1 and Th2 subsets of T lymphocytes, the cells that control most immune responses. Dr. Coffman received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and his A.B. from Indiana University.
Dr. Stephen Tuck, 38, has over 14 years of experience in pharmaceutical chemistry. He came to Dynavax in 1997 and served most recently as Senior Director, Biopharmaceutical Development. Prior to Dynavax, Dr. Tuck was with Chiron Corporation for five years, where he held various positions in the Technical Affairs and Process Development Departments. At Chiron, Dr. Tuck was involved in the development of FluadTM, a novel adjuvanted influenza vaccine, various subunit vaccines, adjuvants and protein therapeutics. Previous to Chiron, Dr. Tuck was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco. He received his Ph.D. and B.Sc. from Imperial College, University of London.
Dr. Van Nest, 51, joined Dynavax in 1997 as Senior Director, Pre-clinical Development. Prior to Dynavax, Dr. Van Nest worked at Chiron Corporation for 15 years in a series of positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as Acting Head of Vaccine Research and overseeing a staff of 50. At Chiron, Dr. Van Nest directed the development of novel adjuvants and delivery vehicles for subunit vaccines for herpes, HIV, influenza, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and cytomegalovirus. Dr. Van Nest has authored over 40 publications. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Arizona and his B.A. from the University of California, Riverside.
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 Sequences (ISS), short DNA sequences that enhance the ability of the immune system to fight disease and prevent inflammation. Dynavax's lead product, AIC, is in Phase II clinical testing for the treatment of ragweed allergy. Dynavax is also developing an oral TNF-alpha synthesis inhibitor initially for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.