Monday, July 28, 2008

Epix CEO Kauffman resigns, Gamzu in as interim chief

By Mass High Tech Staff

Michael Kauffman has resigned from his post as CEO and a member of the board of directors of Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Lexington, according to the company, which has tapped company director Elkan Gamzu to serve as its interim chief executive.

Kauffman’s resignation from Epix (Nasdaq: EPIX) was effective July 25. He became CEO of Epix in August 2006 after the company acquired Predix Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of which he had been chief executive since September 2002. Epix said he resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Prior to taking over Epix as interim CEO, Gamzu had been serving as a consultant in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, according to Epix. He has held senior positions at such firms as Cambridge-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Swiss drug giant Roche Holding AG. He also served as CEO of Pharmos Corp., a biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in Iselin, N.J.

Epix had its share of ups and downs during Kauffman’s tenure. The company has endured delays in the U.S. approval of Vasovist, the company’s injectable intravascular agent for magnetic resonance angiography imaging. And the firm in March pulled the plug on its mid-stage clinical trials for a depression drug.

On the bright side, Epix has received multi-million dollar milestone payments from partner GlaxoSmithKline PLC due to progress in Epix’ development of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and other central nervous system disorders. It also garnered an expansion deal with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation worth up to $37.5 million in April to advance treatments for CF.

With 119 workers, Epix reported a 2007 net loss of $62.8 million on revenue of $14.96 million.