QualityStocks News - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Announces Acquisition of Novel Therapeutic, Significant Management Changes

QualityStocks would like to highlight La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of treatments that significantly improve outcomes in patients with life-threatening diseases. GCS-100, the Company’s product candidate, is a first-in-class inhibitor of galectin-3, a novel molecular target implicated in cancer and chronic organ failure.In the company’s news Friday, La Jolla Pharmaceutical announced that it has acquired global development and commercialization rights to GCS-100, a novel therapeutic for cancer and chronic organ failure.GCS-100’s ongoing development as an anti-cancer and anti-fibrotic agent is supported by extensive preclinical and clinical investigation, including phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.La Jolla acquired GCS-100 from privately held Solana Therapeutics Inc. (Solana). In connection with the acquisition, former Solana CEO George F. Tidmarsh, M.D., Ph.D. will serve as La Jolla’s new president and CEO.“Having been involved in the clinical development of GCS-100 over the past several years, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue this compound’s development in the context of La Jolla,” Dr. Tidmarsh stated in the press release. “Targeting galectin-3 holds great promise in the treatment of a broad range of life-threatening conditions, and, with GCS-100, we have the most advanced galectin-3-targeting compound in development.”Dr. Tidmarsh has 22 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, including the successful clinical development of three FDA-approved drugs. In addition to his appointment and also in connection to the acquisition, Saiid Zarrabian was appointed as an independent director of the company. Former members of La Jolla’s management team, including Deirdre Y. Gillespie, M.D., president and CEO, and Gail A. Sloan, CPA, CPA, as well as several former board members, have resigned.