ChemoCentryx President and CEO, Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 Award Finalist in Northern California

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer is a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Award in Northern California.  According to Ernst & Young LLP, the awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  Dr. Schall was selected as a finalist from over 100 nominations by a panel of independent judges.  Award recipients will be announced at a special gala event on June 12, 2010, at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel.

Dr. Schall is being recognized for his role in founding and leading ChemoCentryx, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer.  As one of the earliest investigators in the field of chemokine biology, Dr. Schall and his team at ChemoCentryx have successfully established one of the broadest pipelines of chemokine-based therapeutics in the pharmaceutical industry, with five products now in clinical development.

"I am honored to be included in such a prestigious program," said Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ChemoCentryx.  "It has been an extremely rewarding experience to work with this gifted ChemoCentryx team to build the Company and help bring us closer to providing valuable new treatment options for patients who suffer from autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.  The Ernst & Young program encourages entrepreneurs and innovation, which is vital for the growth of the biotechnology industry and I appreciate the recognition on behalf of the entire ChemoCentryx organization."

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 24th anniversary this year.  The program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 135 cities in 50 countries throughout the world.  

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year national program.  Award recipients in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award recipient, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 13, 2010.  The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.  In Northern California, sponsors include The Big Picture Film & Video Arts Inc., Manpower, Smart Business, Scherzer International and The Summit Group.

About ChemoCentryx

ChemoCentryx, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems in order to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. The chemokine system is a biological network that regulates inflammation via a collection of secreted chemokine molecules, or ligands, and their specific cell surface receptors. Based on its proprietary drug discovery and drug development platform, ChemoCentryx has internally generated multiple clinical and preclinical stage programs, each targeting distinct chemokine and chemoattractant receptors with different small molecule compounds. ChemoCentryx's lead compound, Traficet-EN, a specific CCR9 antagonist, completed a Phase II/III multi-national clinical trial, called PROTECT-1, in patients with moderate-to severe Crohn's disease, where it demonstrated the ability to induce a clinical response and to maintain clinical remission over the course of the trial. In addition, CCX025, also a CCR9 antagonist, has successfully completed a Phase I clinical program. Other clinical programs include CCX140, which targets the CCR2 receptor, in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus; CCX354, a CCR1 antagonist in a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; and CCX168, a C5aR antagonist, in Phase I clinical development. ChemoCentryx also has several programs in preclinical development. ChemoCentryx is privately held. For more information, please refer to www.chemocentryx.com.

About Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards Program

Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the U.S.

SOURCE ChemoCentryx, Inc.