Amicus Therapeutics names new CFO

Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FOLD) has hired a biopharmaceutical industry veteran as chief financial officer of its […]

Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FOLD) has hired a biopharmaceutical industry veteran as chief financial officer of its business to develop treatments for lysosomal storage diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.

William D. Baird III previously worked at PTC Therapeutics where he served for 10 years, seven as CFO, according to a company statement.

Amicus’ lead drug undergoing phase 3 clinical trials is AT1001, a treatment for Fabry disease, for which it is expecting results in the third quarter.  It is collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline to develop the drug.

Currently, Genzyme is the only other company that provides a drug for this disease since Shire dropped its efforts to get the drug approved after years of back-and-forth with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Cranbury, New Jersey-based Amicus is also developing small molecules referred to as “pharmacological chaperones” that are able to cross the blood brain barrier to provide “scaffolding” in cells with misfolded, mutant proteins. the molecules are used in combination with enzyme replacement therapies.

It expects to have its Parkinson’s disease program, AT3375, partially funded by a Michael J. Fox Foundation grant, through preclinical and IND-studies. The foundation said Amicus will be featured as part of a pilot partnering program to spotlight research results in the MJFF portfolio to potential funders.

During his tenure at PTC Therapeutics, Baird helped raise more than $500 million through a combination of venture capital, nondilutive grant funding, collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, along with debt financings.

At Amicus, Baird will get a base salary of $320,000 and a sign on bonus of $40,000, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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