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Lakhmir S. Chawla, M.D. Receives the International Vicenza Award
[July 01, 2015]

Lakhmir S. Chawla, M.D. Receives the International Vicenza Award


La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (Nasdaq: LJPC) (the Company or La Jolla), a leader in the development of innovative therapies intended to significantly improve outcomes in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases, today announced that Lakhmir "Mink" S. Chawla, M.D., the Company's Chief Medical Officer, received the International Vicenza Award for Critical Care Nephrology at the 33rd Course on Critical Care Nephrology in June 2015. This award recognizes individuals who have made seminal clinical research advancements that have significantly improved the care of critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and have been adopted worldwide.

Dr. Chawla was selected as the recipient of the Vicenza Award for his contributions to the development of the renal angina model, the development and standardization of the furosemide stress test, the link between AKI and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the use of angiotensin II in the treatment of high-output shock. Dr. Chawla is the tenth recipient to receive the Vicenza Award.

Prior to his appointment at La Jolla, Dr. Chawla was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University, where he had dual appointments in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and in the Department f Medicine, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension. Dr. Chawla was also the Chief of the Division of Intensive Care Medicine at the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center.



Dr. Chawla has been an active investigator in the field of critical care nephrology since 2002. His research has focused on shock, inflammation, AKI epidemiology and outcomes, the link between AKI and CKD, and AKI risk assessment. He is also a leading researcher in the field of AKI biomarkers and functional kidney testing.

"On behalf of the entire La Jolla team, I would like to congratulate Mink on receiving this prestigious award," said George F. Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of La Jolla. "Mink has made many valuable contributions to the field of medicine, and we are honored to have him on our team."


Professors Claudio Ronco, M.D. and Rinaldo Bellomo, MBBS, M.D., FRACP, FCICM, PGDipEcho presented the award. Professor Ronco founded the International Renal Research Institute of Vicenza that has hosted more than 100 fellows from all over the world and is renowned for the interdisciplinary nature of the research carried out in its many laboratories. Professor Bellomo is the Director of Intensive Care Research at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, the Founding Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care (ANZIC) Society Clinical Trials Group and the current Co-Director of the ANZIC Research Centre.

About La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies intended to significantly improve outcomes in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. The Company has several product candidates in development. LJPC-501 is La Jolla's proprietary formulation of angiotensin II for the potential treatment of catecholamine-resistant hypotension and hepatorenal syndrome. LJPC-401 is La Jolla's novel formulation of hepcidin for the potential treatment of conditions characterized by iron overload, such as hereditary hemochromatosis and beta thalassemia. LJPC-30Sa and LJPC-30Sb are La Jolla's next-generation gentamicin derivatives for the potential treatment of serious bacterial infections and rare genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. For more information on La Jolla, please visit www.ljpc.com.


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