(BW Healthwire)–June 04, 2002—Xencor’s Vice President, Discovery Technologies, Robert Pacifici, Ph.D., Presents at BIO 2002, June 10 at 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in room 701A.

Monrovia, CA – Xencor, a drug discovery company focused on protein optimization and chemical genomics, today announced that Robert Pacifici, Ph.D., Vice President of Discovery Technologies, will present as a member of the “Enhancing the Therapeutic Utility of Biopharmaceuticals: The Next Frontier“ panel during the BIO 2002 International Biotechnology Convention & Exhibition. Panel members will discuss efforts to improve the biophysical and therapeutic properties of current and potential protein therapeutics. Topics will include: emerging technologies in protein optimization, protein modification, developments in drug-delivery technologies and methods to predict and evade immunogenicity.

“Protein optimization is the future for biotherapeutics,“ stated Dr. Pacifici. “Using the information embedded in protein structure to optimize the function of the protein is crucial in developing the next generation of biopharmaceuticals. Technologies such as Xencor’s Protein Design AutomationTM (PDATM) enable the development of novel biotherapeutics, improved second-generation therapeutic proteins, enzymes with enhanced properties and optimized antibodies.“

The panel is chaired by Linda Jolliffe, Ph.D., Vice President, Drug Discovery /Biology, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. In addition to Dr. Pacifici, other speakers will include, David Estell, Ph.D., Research Fellow and Vice President, Technology, Genencor International and B. Michael Silber, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, ALZA Corporation.

“The PDATM platform is the first and only rational, structure-based protein optimization method,“ added Dr. Pacifici. “It combines advanced computational methods, high performance computing power, and experimental screening to access 70 orders of magnitude more protein sequence diversity than directed evolution methods and phage display. Our ultra high-throughput capabilities allow us to improve protein properties faster and more efficiently than current methods, while creating new intellectual property.“

Xencor discovers and develops protein and small molecule therapeutics using its proprietary rational protein design and chemical biology platforms. Xencor’s platforms apply high performance computing and advanced cell biology to rapidly discover drugs with novel mechanisms and improved safety and efficacy. Xencor is a privately held biopharmaceutical company located in Monrovia, CA. Additional information is available at www.xencor.com.