John E. Leonard, Ph.D., Former Biogen Idec Antibody Development Executive, Joins the Scientific Advisory Board of Vacc...( ROCHESTER N.Y. March 5 /- Vaccine...)

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaccinex, Inc. announced today that Dr. John E. Leonard has joined its Scientific Advisory Board, and will be actively involved in the strategic planning and execution of the company's therapeutic antibody development programs.

Dr. Leonard has over 20 years of experience at Idec and Biogen Idec, having held Senior Director level positions in Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Project Management and Product Development, and Vice President level positions in Quality, Product Development and Program Management.

Dr. Maurice Zauderer, Vaccinex's President and CEO, remarked: "As we advance our lead therapeutic antibody candidates into pre-clinical and clinical development, we are delighted that John has agreed to join our SAB and take an active role in advising the company on our technical development plans and pipeline strategies. With his extensive background in antibody drug development, and his first-hand experience in the development of Rituxan(R), Zevalin(R) and most recently Tysabri(R), he will be an invaluable resource to our in-house development team."

"I am very pleased to join Vaccinex's Scientific Advisory Board. With the company's novel ActivMAb(R) antibody discovery technology and its emerging pipeline of lead antibody candidates, I think Vaccinex is well positioned to advance the development of several innovative therapies in the areas of cancer, autoimmune disease, and inflammation," said Dr. Leonard.

Dr. Leonard received his BS in Chemistry and MS in Biochemistry from California State University, Long Beach, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel serving most recently in the Medical Services Corps.

About Vaccinex

Vaccinex, Inc. is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies and other biologics to treat a variety of serious illnesses, including autoimmu
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