Tolerx Appoints Antonin de Fougerolles, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer by modulating T cell activity, today announced the appointment of Antonin (Tony) de Fougerolles, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. de Fougerolles’ appointment as Tolerx’s CSO will provide leadership for the company’s research and early-stage product development programs involving novel therapies based on T cell modulation.  Dr. de Fougerolles brings to Tolerx more than 15 years of biotech R&D experience and expertise in immunology. He will direct the company’s R&D activities and strengthen Tolerx’s leadership in T cell immunology.

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"We are delighted and enthusiastic about Tony joining us as CSO at this pivotal time, when Tolerx is poised to make substantial progress in expanding our pipeline of drug candidates based on T cell modulation," said Dr. Douglas J. Ringler, Chief Executive Officer of Tolerx. "Tony brings world-class R&D experience from well-known biotech companies, and his skills and expertise will extend our scientific leadership in T cell modulation and help lead Tolerx through our next stage of growth as we broaden our pipeline of innovative T cell therapies.”

Prior to joining Tolerx, Dr. de Fougerolles was Vice President, Research, Immunology, Metabolic, and Viral Disease at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.  Dr. de Fougerolles joined Alnylam in 2003, holding positions of increasing responsibility and playing a key role in the development of several research programs, including those with Alnylam partners Novartis and Roche. Before joining Alnylam, he served as a Principal Scientist at Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen Idec Inc.), where he had worked since 1998. At Biogen, Dr. de Fougerolles worked on several immunology/inflammation-based programs and led research teams working to develop antibody-based therapeutics. Dr. de Fougerolles earned his Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University, and was a Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.

“I am very excited to join Tolerx at this time of transformational growth, and believe the depth and quality of Tolerx’s team and expertise in T cell modulation position the company to significantly advance and build its pipeline of new therapeutics,” said Dr. de Fougerolles. “I am particularly enthusiastic about helping to advance the product pipeline and playing a key role in developing novel therapies that are on the cutting edge of exploiting the science of T cell activity to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer in fundamentally new ways."

About Tolerx

Tolerx, Inc., a world leader in the understanding of T cell function, is developing novel therapies intended to treat autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and cancer by specifically modulating T cell activity.  The company’s pipeline includes its lead candidate, otelixizumab, a targeted T cell immunomodulator in Phase 3 development for the treatment of type 1 diabetes that is partnered with GlaxoSmithKline.  TRX1, a Phase 1 candidate, is a nonlytic anti-CD4 antibody that is being developed for the treatment of aberrant or untoward humoral immune responses.  The company also has three pre-clinical candidates, TRX518, TRX585, and TRX385, that enhance immune responses and as such are being evaluated for potential benefit in the treatment of cancer and chronic infections. Tolerx is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, MA USA.  For more information, please visit www.tolerrx.com.

SOURCE Tolerx, Inc.