Concert Pharmaceuticals' Roger Tung Awarded 2009 Mass High Tech All Star Award.LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that Roger Tung, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, has been named a 2009 Mass High Tech All Star for his contributions to the pharmaceutical industry. The annual All Star awards honor pioneers and leaders across several business and technology sectors in New England. This year's honorees will be profiled in a special supplement in the November 4 edition of Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology. "Roger has become a true leader in the biotech community and is a very deserving recipient of this award. As a scientist, he has a remarkable track record of discovering and developing novel drugs for diseases such as HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. , Hepatitis C Hepatitis C Definition Hepatitis C is a form of liver inflammation that causes primarily a long-lasting (chronic) disease. Acute (newly developed) hepatitis C is rarely observed as the early disease is generally quite mild. , and cystic fibrosis cystic fibrosis (sĭs`tĭk fībrō`sĭs), inherited disorder of the exocrine glands (see gland), affecting children and young people; median survival is 25 years in females and 30 years in males. . While building on that success at Concert, he has also proven to be a terrific entrepreneur, leading a fast growing and exciting new company," said Richard H. Aldrich, Chairman of the Board of Concert Pharmaceuticals. "I am honored to be recognized by Mass High Tech with this award," said Dr. Roger Tung. "This award is a tribute to all of Concert's employees who are advancing a new branch of chemistry that we believe will enable the rapid discovery and development of clinically and commercially important new medicines." Roger Tung has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since he co-founded the company in 2006 based on his independent scientific research. After more than 20 years in drug discovery, Dr. Tung decided to take a different approach to pharmaceutical discovery and development. His vision is to create differentiated, important new medicines while reducing the risk, expense, and long timelines associated with traditional drug development. This vision is embodied by Concert's technology platform which involves the selective incorporation of deuterium deuterium (d  tēr`ēəm), isotope of hydrogen with mass no. 2. The deuterium nucleus, called a deuteron, contains one proton and one neutron. atoms
in place of hydrogen in compounds with proven human pharmacological
activity in order to improve their metabolism and pharmacokinetics. This
process can provide novel drugs that retain the pharmacological activity
of the starting compounds but that, in favorable cases, can possess
substantially improved safety and/or efficacy features.
A medicinal chemist by training, Dr. Tung was previously at Vertex Pharmaceuticals from 1989, when he joined as a founding scientist, until 2005. At Vertex he co-invented their two commercial HIV protease inhibitors Protease Inhibitors Definition A protease inhibitor is a type of drug that cripples the enzyme protease. An enzyme is a substance that triggers chemical reactions in the body. (Lexiva[R] and Agenerase[R]). Dr. Tung also oversaw the discovery of clinical candidates for a wide range of therapeutic targets including HIV protease protease /pro·te·ase/ (pro´te-as) endopeptidase. pro·te·ase n. Any of various enzymes, including the proteinases and peptidases, that catalyze the hydrolytic breakdown of proteins. , IMPDH, p38 MAP kinase, HCV HCV abbr. hepatitis C virus HCV 1 Hepatitis C virus, see there 2. Human coronavirus. See Coronavirus. protease, HDAC HDAC Histone Deacetylase (biochemistry) HDAC Heavy Duty Air Cylinder , and CFTR at both protein and transcriptional levels. Dr. Tung received his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison “University of Wisconsin” redirects here. For other uses, see University of Wisconsin (disambiguation). A public, land-grant institution, UW-Madison offers a wide spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs, and student activities. and his B.A. degree in Chemistry from Reed College. He is currently an advisor to the Chinese-American BioMedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. Association and a Scientific Advisor for Medivation, Inc. About Concert Concert Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the application of deuterium chemistry to create novel and differentiated small molecule drugs. Concert's approach leverages known activity and safety of existing drugs to reduce time, risk and expense of drug research and development. The Company has a broad research pipeline encompassing many therapeutic areas including infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. and renal disease, among others. Its lead development candidate is the HIV protease inhibitor CTP-518. In 2009, Concert entered into a potential $1 billion collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline to develop and commercialize certain deuterium-containing medicines. Founded in 2006, Concert has raised more than $110 million of venture and institutional capital. For more information on Concert Pharmaceuticals, please visit www.concertpharma.com. Concert Pharmaceuticals and the CoNCERT logo are trademarks of Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
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