Lycera Congratulates Dr. Peter L. Toogood for His Receipt of the 2016 Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS)

NEW YORK and ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lycera Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough immune modulatory medicines, announced today that Peter L. Toogood, Ph.D., Lycera's Senior Vice President, Chemistry and Chemical Biology has received the prestigious Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society. Dr. Toogood has been recognized for his contributions to the discovery and development of IBRANCE® (palbociclib), the first and only cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK 4/6) inhibitor approved by the U.S. FDA, during his previous tenure as a research scientist and team leader at Parke-Davis and Pfizer.

"Peter exemplifies the culture of scientific excellence and innovation we have established at Lycera to advance novel immunotherapies," said Paul Sekhri, President and CEO of Lycera. "His role as an inventor of palbociclib led to the development and eventual commercialization of a first-in-class drug for metastatic breast cancer. This research also importantly helped reinvigorate an area of oncology research that is expected to continue to benefit cancer patients in the future."

"I am extremely grateful to Pfizer and to the ACS for this recognition," stated Dr. Toogood. "The success of palbociclib is a story of tremendous teamwork. I feel privileged to have played a role in this drug's development, and I am honored to be chosen to receive this award."

Each year, Heroes of Chemistry are nominated by their respective companies to recognize their talent, creativity, and innovation. Previous Heroes have excelled in innovation at prominent international corporations and have developed numerous commercial products that demonstrate strong financial performance. The commercial success of their products in the marketplace is an important criterion for this honor, recognizing that good business results follow good science.

For more information about the program and this year's winners, please visit the Heroes of Chemistry webpage.

About Lycera

Lycera is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel oral immune modulators for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. Based on successful progress of its world-class R&D platform, including expertise in immune metabolism, cell signaling, and immune cell differentiation, Lycera is commencing multiple clinical programs in 2016. The company is advancing a wholly owned, oral, gut-directed ATPase modulator, designated LYC-30937-EC, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and has completed Phase 1 clinical studies in healthy volunteers. The Company also is progressing oral RORgamma agonists for diverse applications in immuno-oncology. Lycera has an exclusive strategic collaboration with Celgene Corporation to advance Lycera's proprietary pipeline for cancer and immune-mediated diseases. In addition, Lycera had previously established collaborations with Merck to discover, develop, and commercialize small molecule therapies for autoimmune disorders.

Lycera's leadership possesses deep experience in drug discovery, development, and commercialization and has established close relationships with renowned thought leaders and clinical researchers worldwide. Lycera was founded in 2006 based on an initial scientific platform in-licensed from the University of Michigan. Lead investors in Lycera include InterWest Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Clarus Ventures, and EDF Ventures.

CONTACT: Justin Jackson, Burns McClellan, 212-213-0006, ext. 327, [email protected]

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SOURCE Lycera Corp.

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