ROCKVILLE, Md.--Human Genome Sciences here has made two appointments to its board of directors. Jurgen Drews, recently retired president for global research for the Roche Group of Hoffmann-LaRoche has joined the board and will serve on its executive committee. Alan Spoon, president and chief operating officer of the Washington Post, was also named to the board.
Meanwhile, board member Joshua Ruch has resigned for personal reasons, the company reported. He had served on the board, which has 12 members, since the company's founding.
In other developments, the company has begun enrolling patients in two separate Phase I studies of its keratinocyte growth factor-2 (KGF-2), a new human protein that is being evaluated as a wound-healing treatment. The product, which was discovered by Human Genome scientists, is significant as the second genomics-derived therapeutic candidate to enter human clinical testing.
The trials are double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of KGF-2 and gain information for additional studies. "KGF-2 is one of the many new proteins that Human Genome Sciences' scientists have discovered and are developing based on our powerful approach to genomic and functional genomic analysis," commented William Haseltine, the company's chairman and CEO.