Chimerix Names George Painter, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientific Officer; Appoints Kenneth I. Moch President and Chief Executive Officer

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, announced today that Kenneth I. Moch has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Moch joined Chimerix as Chief Operating Officer in July 2009, bringing more than 25 years of experience in creating, managing and financing biomedical companies.  Mr. Moch will also join the company's Board, for a total of six directors.  

George Painter, Ph.D., Chimerix's former President and Chief Executive Officer, has been named Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of the company's Board. In his new role, Dr. Painter will oversee Chimerix's drug discovery and development efforts and seek opportunities to leverage the company's proprietary platform capabilities and antiviral expertise in the advancement of important new medicines that address global health needs.  Seth Rudnick, M.D., General Partner, Canaan Partners and Tim Wollaeger, Managing Director, Sanderling Ventures, formerly Co-Chairmen of the Chimerix Board, remain Directors of the company.    

"Ken Moch and George Painter make an outstanding and highly complementary leadership team.  Ken and George will each play to their strengths in pursuing the same goal:  advancing important antiviral medicines that can save lives," said Mr. Wollaeger on behalf of the Chimerix Board.  "Dr. Painter is a world-class innovator and drug developer and his vision has resulted in the discovery and early evaluation of Chimerix's pipeline of powerful antivirals to address such serious viruses as cytomegalovirus, smallpox, HIV and hepatitis C.  An accomplished veteran in the biotechnology industry, Ken's depth of experience is vital as Chimerix matures to focus on the commercial positioning of the company's novel antiviral product candidates."

Mr. Moch has played an integral role in building several life science companies, having previously led Alteon Inc. and Biocyte Corporation as Chief Executive Officer.  He also served as Managing Director, Healthcare Banking at ThinkEquity Partners.  Mr. Moch was a co-founder and Vice President of The Liposome Company, Inc. (acquired by Elan), and earlier in his career, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc.  He holds an A.B. degree in biochemistry from Princeton University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

"I am honored to assume this responsibility as Chimerix is well positioned as an emerging leader in antiviral drug development.  With a pipeline of potent antiviral medicines, a technology capable of radically improving the pharmacological properties of drug candidates, a chemical library generating NCEs and an outstanding scientific and clinical team, this is the right time to accelerate development and partnering activities," said Mr. Moch.  "I look forward to the development of our lead clinical-stage candidates, CMX001 and CMX157, and to advancing promising new antiviral compounds into the clinic alone and in conjunction with future partners."

Dr. Painter led Chimerix as President and Chief Executive Officer since its founding in 2002.  Dr. Painter has more than 31 years of experience in pharmaceutical development, having served as a founding member of the Triangle Pharmaceuticals management team, where he was Executive Vice President, Research and Development.  Prior, he was Director of Chemistry and Director of Virology at Burroughs Wellcome Co., and International Deputy Therapeutic Head for Antiviral Research at Glaxo Wellcome, Inc.  Dr. Painter is a co-inventor on more than forty-five patents, six of which have led to approved commercially available drugs or combinations of drugs for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B.  He earned a B.S. in chemistry, an M.S. in physical organic chemistry and a Ph.D. in synthetic chemistry from Emory University.

"I have been privileged to lead an outstanding team in advancing CMX001 and CMX157, two potent antiviral drug candidates, and in establishing Chimerix as an innovative force in antiviral drug research," said Dr. Painter.  "We are looking forward to taking the company to the next level as we develop important new antiviral products.  As Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of Chimerix, I am focused on supporting our future success and expanding our scientific vision as it applies to imperative global health needs."

About Chimerix

Chimerix is developing antiviral therapeutics to treat life-threatening diseases.  Led by a world-class antiviral drug development team, Chimerix is advancing programs to address cytomegalovirus (CMV), BK virus, adenovirus, smallpox, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza.  The company's lead compound, CMX001, is in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical studies for the treatment of BK virus and CMV, potentially deadly infections among immunocompromised patients.  CMX001 is also being developed as a biodefense countermeasure in the event of a smallpox release.  CMX157, a late-stage preclinical candidate, is a new chemical entity created by applying Chimerix's PIM (Phospholipid Intramembrane Microfluidization) Conjugate Technology to chemically modify tenofovir, an approved HIV drug.  CMX157 is being developed as a potential once-weekly nucleoside analogue against HIV infections.  Building on the company's extensive chemical library, Chimerix is also pursuing translational medicine efforts to address malaria, dengue fever and other public health needs.  Chimerix has received financing from leading venture capital firms, including Sanderling Ventures, Canaan Partners, Alta Partners, Asset Management Company and Frazier Healthcare Ventures, as well as significant funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Additional information about Chimerix and its antiviral drug development programs may be found online at http://www.chimerix.com.

SOURCE Chimerix, Inc.