SEATTLE, Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Immune Design Corp. (IDC) announced today that Guy F. Cipriani, MBA will be joining the company as its new Chief Business Officer.  In the position, Mr. Cipriani will leverage more than 12 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience to lead strategy and business development activities for the company's rapidly advancing pipeline of novel therapeutic vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases, cancer and allergy.

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Most recently, he was Vice President of Business Development and a member of senior management at Cardiome Pharma Corp. in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.  Prior to Cardiome, Mr. Cipriani served as Director of Business Development for TransForm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Lexington, MA, that was acquired by Johnson and Johnson in April 2005. He also spent 5 years in Corporate Business Development at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, IN, and previously as a management consultant with Accenture in Chicago, IL.  Mr. Cipriani received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a B.S.E.E., High Honors from Rochester Institute of Technology.

"We are pleased to welcome Guy to our senior management team, as he is an extraordinary individual with great experience.  His demonstrated success in both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies will be of significant value to IDC as we pursue new collaborations around our two platforms and broad strategic partnerships," said Carlos V. Paya. MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of IDC.

Mr. Cipriani commented, "I am excited to join an organization with such talented scientists and promising technologies.  I believe that IDC's platforms have tremendous partnering potential and that they can be leveraged in transactions that allow the company to advance aggressively.  I look forward to playing a key role on the senior management team as we take the company forward."

About Immune Design Corp.

Immune Design Corp. is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Seattle, Washington and formed in 2008 to bring together some of the world's leaders in the field of molecular immunology to develop vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious and malignant disease.  The company employs advanced and leading edge methods to precisely control the activation and context of antigen presentation by dendritic cells in order to shape the desired adaptive immune response.  This goal is accomplished through the application of two proprietary technology platforms that activate the immune system by distinct mechanisms.

Additional information can be found on the company's website at www.immunedesign.com.

Contact Media:
Cassie Ostrander 206-826-7901 or media@immunedesign.com

SOURCE Immune Design Corp.