PTC Therapeutics Appoints Robert Spiegel, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced the appointment of Robert J. Spiegel M.D., FACP as Chief Medical Officer.  Dr. Spiegel served previously as Chief Medical Officer of Schering-Plough.  PTC also announced today the promotion of Jay Barth, M.D. to Vice President of Clinical Development.  

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Dr. Spiegel will report to Stuart W. Peltz, Ph.D., President and CEO of PTC Therapeutics.  "It is an exciting opportunity to be joining PTC at this time in the company's evolution," stated Dr. Spiegel.  "PTC has a broad development pipeline in genetic disorders, oncology, infectious diseases and multiple innovative preclinical programs that will be entering the clinic in the coming years.  Near term, ataluren offers PTC a unique opportunity with the potential to improve the lives of patients with serious, life-threatening rare disorders such as Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis."

While at Schering-Plough, Dr. Spiegel was involved in the filing of over thirty New Drug Applications and interacted with regulatory authorities in the U.S. and globally on a regular basis, serving on the executive committees overseeing all research projects and drug licensing activities.  Dr. Spiegel joined Schering-Plough in 1983 as Director, Clinical Research, progressing through clinical operations as Vice President of Clinical Research, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Clinical Research and then becoming Chief Medical Officer in 1998.  He received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Yale University and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Spiegel continues to serve on the Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committees of a number of companies and is an Advisor at Warburg Pincus.

In his new role as Vice President of Clinical Development, Dr. Jay Barth will lead all clinical development programs for ataluren, an investigational new drug for the treatment of nonsense mutation genetic disorders.  Ataluren is currently being investigated for use in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and methylmalonic acidemia due to a nonsense mutation.  Dr. Barth received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and a fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Liver disease and Nutrition at the New England Medical Center.  In his previous role at Merck, Dr. Barth served as Executive Director of Clinical Development and was responsible for global clinical development programs in respiratory, supportive oncology and gastroenterology.  

"We are excited to welcome Dr. Spiegel as a member of our senior management team.  Bob's extensive clinical development experience, especially his track record in leading discussions with regulatory authorities, will be invaluable as we move ataluren toward regulatory filings," stated Dr. Stuart Peltz, President and CEO of PTC Therapeutics.  "Jay has been a key contributor to the successful execution of our ataluren development plan since 2009 and the expansion of his role further supports advancement of our development efforts with ataluren."

About PTC Therapeutics, Inc.  

PTC is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of orally administered small-molecule drugs that target post-transcriptional control processes.  Post-transcriptional control processes regulate the rate and timing of protein production and are of central importance to proper cellular function.  PTC's internally discovered pipeline addresses multiple therapeutic areas, including rare genetic disorders, oncology and infectious diseases.  PTC has developed proprietary technologies that it applies in its drug discovery activities and is the basis for collaborations with leading biopharmaceutical companies.  For more information, visit the company's web site at www.ptcbio.com.

SOURCE PTC Therapeutics, Inc.