Mitchell is new Lux Biosciences president, CEO

Jersey City, NJ-Lux Biosciences Inc. announced the appointment of Dean Mitchell as president and chief executive officer (CEO).

“[Mitchell] brings to Lux Biosciences an outstanding track record of success in building companies and growing value at both specialty pharmaceutical companies and large global firms such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline,” said David Guyer, MD, chairman of the Lux Biosciences board of directors and partner at SV Life Sciences. “We . . . look forward to seeing the company progress under his leadership toward the U.S. and European approval and eventual commercialization of Lux’s first-in-class product for noninfectious uveitis, oral voclosporin [Luveniq].”

“As an oral therapy specifically developed for noninfectious uveitis, I am enthusiastic about [voclosporin]’s potential to help patients with this difficult-to-treat inflammatory eye disease that is an important cause of blindness,” Mitchell said. “With Lux Biosciences’ innovative portfolio of products and delivery technologies, there are multiple strategic alternatives for developing the company, and I look forward to exploring these over the coming months.”

Mitchell is the former president, CEO, and director of Alpharma Inc., a public human and animal specialty pharmaceutical company, which was acquired by King Pharmaceuticals in 2008. Prior to Alpharma, he was president and CEO of Guilford Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company that was acquired by MGI Pharmaceuticals in 2005.

Before Guilford, Mitchell was at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was president, international and president, U.S. primary care. Prior to Bristol-Myers Squibb, he spent 14 years at GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as senior vice president, clinical development and product strategy.

Mitchell also is a non-executive board member of ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Intrexon, and Talecris Biotherapeutics.