MONROVIA, Calif., May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Xencor, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNCR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergic diseases, and cancer, today announced the appointment of Mark Lotz, R.Ph., vice president, regulatory affairs and  the appointment of Wayne Saville, M.D., vice president, clinical oncology.

"The addition of Mr. Lotz and Dr. Saville add expertise and substantial depth to Xencor's drug development team as we move more XmAb^® candidates forward into clinical development," said Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Xencor. "Mark's wealth of experience in biopharma regulatory affairs and quality assurance strategy is of tremendous value as we initiate clinical testing of XmAb5871 in the rare IgG4-Related Disease this year and continue to advance XmAb7195 and the rest of our pipeline. In addition, Wayne's expertise in clinical oncology, translational research and medical affairs will be particularly valuable as we progress our bispecific oncology candidates such as XmAb14045. Both Mark and Wayne are great additions to Xencor's senior management team and I am looking forward to their support."

Mr. Lotz has more than 35 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience in regulatory affairs. Prior to joining Xencor, Mr. Lotz served as a regulatory and quality consultant where he provided review of regulatory documents, clinical development plans and protocols, and served as a representative to regulatory agencies. Before that, he had a long career in various senior regulatory affairs and quality assurance roles with companies that include Abbott Laboratories, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Isis Pharmaceuticals, MediciNova, Inc., Elan Pharmaceuticals, IASO Pharma Inc. and most recently Samumed LLC. Mr. Lotz earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Saville has more than 25 years of clinical affairs and medical research experience. Prior to joining Xencor, Dr. Saville served as vice president of clinical development oncology at Tocagen Inc. Earlier in his career, he served in clinical development and medical affairs roles at Genoptix, which was acquired by Novartis, Amgen, Biogen Idec and Idec Pharmaceuticals. Before that, Dr. Saville served as an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and was a clinical associate, investigator and medical oncology fellow at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Saville earned his bachelor's degree and degree in medicine at Northwestern University and was a resident of internal medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.

About Xencor, Inc.

Xencor is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of asthma and allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer. Currently, eight candidates that have been engineered with Xencor's XmAb® technology are in clinical development internally and with partners. Xencor's internally-discovered programs include: XmAb5871, which completed a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is in preparation for a clinical trial in IgG4-related disease in 2015; XmAb7195 in Phase 1a development for the treatment of asthma; and XmAb5574/MOR208 which has been licensed to Morphosys AG and is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Xencor's XmAb antibody engineering technology enables small changes to the structure of monoclonal antibodies resulting in new mechanisms of therapeutic action. Xencor partners include Merck, Janssen R&D LLC, Alexion, Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim. For more information, please visit www.xencor.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws, including quotations from the Company's president and chief executive officer and other statements associated with Xencor's research, collaborations and its expectations regarding future therapeutic and commercial potential of Xencor's technologies, programs, drug candidates, including XmAb5871, XmAb7195, XmAb14045 and its bispecific antibody development pipeline, and intellectual property related to Xencor's XmAb technology. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective, actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Xencor's programs and technology are described in additional detail in Xencor's SEC filings. These forward-looking statements speak as of the date on which they were made, are based upon Xencor's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements and Xencor disclaims any intention or obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Investor Contact:
Xencor
John Kuch, Vice President Finance
626-737-8013

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Corporate Communications Contact:
Canale Communications
Jason Spark
619-849-6005

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SOURCE Xencor, Inc.