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X-Chem Promotes Diala Ezzeddine to Executive Vice President and Chief Business OfficerX-Chem, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on applying its innovative drug discovery capabilities to the generation of novel small molecule therapeutics, today announced that Diala Ezzeddine, Ph.D., has been promoted to executive vice president and chief business officer, effective December 6, 2014. Dr. Ezzeddine joined X-Chem in January 2010, shortly after the company was founded, and was appointed chief business officer and a member of the company's executive management team in January 2011. She has led the effort to establish strategic drug discovery alliances with several of the world's major pharmaceutical companies as well as numerous academic institutions and other non-profit entities. In her new position, she will continue to lead business development and alliance management, and will additionally assume an expanded role in business strategy and corporate development. "In a short period of time X-Chem has become the partner of choice for leaders in the drug development industry," said X-Chem president and CEO Rick Wagner. "This promotion is testament to Diala's contribution as a driving force behind X-Chem's incredible partnering success over the past five years. Diala's strategic thinking, leadership skills, and ability to deliver outstanding results will continue to be a valuable asset as X-Chem moves into its next growth phase." "I am extremely proud of our accomplishments at X-Chem and in cooperation with our partners," said Dr. Ezzeddine. "I am excited to continue working with our fantastic team to take the company to new heights." About the X-Chem Drug Discovery Platform Due to the size and diversity of the library, X-Chem can discover multiple series of novel, potent and selective lead compounds at an unprecedented rate of success against a wide range of targets, including some that previously failed using conventional screening methods. A number of proprietary innovations in library design, screening methodology and bioinformatics underlie the exceptional performance of the platform. In particular, X-Chem's approach to library construction allows for additional chemical reactions to become useable in DNA-encoded library synthesis. Together, these developments result in a much greater repertoire of diversity for small molecules, which cover a range of categories including fragment molecules, small molecular weight heterocyclic compounds, and macrocyclic structures. This diverse library, combined with a heightened ability to detect active molecules, has yielded a robust process that has been highly successful against targets categorized as difficult or intractable. About DNA-Encoding The X-Chem drug discovery engine is based on a library generated by iterative combinatorial synthesis of small molecules tethered to DNA tags that record the synthetic history of the small molecule. Every small molecule in the library has a unique DNA barcode attached it. The library is screened as a mixture using affinity-based binding to a target of interest. Certain rare molecules in the library that bind to the target can be "fished out," while the rest of the molecules wash away. DNA sequencing methods are then used to detect molecules that are enrichd when bound to the target. The diverse nature of the library produces multiple families or clusters of related molecules that bind to the target, forming a basis for emergent structure-activity relationships. Structure-activity relationships are typically used by medicinal chemists to guide iterative chemical maturation of a molecule into a drug. Based on the synthetic history encoded in the DNA sequence information, molecules are then made without the DNA tag (News - Alert) attached, and tested for activity in conventional assays. About X-Chem X-Chem, Inc. is a biotechnology company based in Waltham, MA. The company's mission is to apply its powerful product engine to the discovery of small molecule compounds against high-value therapeutic targets. X-Chem has established partnerships with Roche, AstraZeneca and several other leading pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology organizations, and academic centers. In September 2014, Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD) acquired all interests in X-Chem, Inc., while retaining the company's management team and biotechnology business model. For further information on X-Chem, please visit: http://www.x-chemrx.com. About PPD PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 46 countries and more than 13,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com. Forward-looking Disclaimer Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including statements, expectations and assumptions about X-Chem's small molecule drug discovery technology contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD and X-Chem attempt to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based and could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other important factors that could cause future results to differ materially include the following: rapid technological advances that make our services less competitive; risks associated with and dependence on strategic relationships; the ability to attract, integrate and retain key personnel; competition in the outsourcing industry; X-Chem's ability to win new business; the rate of conversion of backlog and future milestones and other payments under the collaboration into revenue and earnings; actual operating performance; overall global economic conditions; economic conditions, research and development spending, and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and government-sponsored research sectors; consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; loss, delay or modification of large contracts; compliance with drug development regulations; changes in the regulation of the drug development process; risks associated with acquisitions and investments; and the ability to control SG&A spending. PPD and X-Chem assume no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update these forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing PPD or X-Chem's estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
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