Anti-Bacterial Infection Specialist Combioxin Appoints Industry Veteran Jeffrey Jump As Chairman

20 July 2017 – Combioxin, a Swiss-based company specialising in the treatment of severe bacterial infections, has appointed Jeffrey B. Jump as Chairman.

His main focus at Combioxin will be the commercialisation of the Company’s lead product, CAL02, a broad-spectrum anti-virulence agent currently being tested in a first-in-human clinical study in ICU patients with severe pneumococcal pneumonia.

Jeffrey has 35 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, including 15 years’ at Board level. His specific areas of expertise are product commercialisation, licensing, and Mergers & Acquisitions in the healthcare sector. Jeffrey spent some 13 years working for medical device company Biosensors, latterly as CEO. During his time at Biosensors the company grew from start-up to become the fourth largest supplier of cardiac stents in the world.

Despite current best-practice antibiotic therapy, vaccines and supportive health care, bacterial infections are still associated with high morbidity and mortality.

Innovative anti-infective agents targeting bacterial toxins and steering clear from the emergence of drug resistance, have become a critical medical need and a focus of R&D investment both by the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry. They defy the most alarming infections which affect critically ill patients and offer a chance for a wiser use of antibiotics.

Bacterial toxins are directly responsible for serious and fatal infection-related complications, extended hospitalisation and tremendous increases in cost of care. Toxins are weapons used by bacteria to colonize our body, invade our organs, and block our immune defences. They play multifactorial and fundamental roles in initiation, dissemination, persistence, and severity of infection. Because of their almost ubiquitous presence in bacterial pathogens, they are important targets for broadly applicable antimicrobial prophylaxis and therapeutics.

“I am excited to be joining Combioxin, a very dynamic company with a clear vision and products which could fundamentally change the way we treat severe bacterial infections”, said Jeffrey. “CAL02 holds the tremendous promise to save thousands of lives, which we believe will be borne out by current and future studies.”

“We are pleased to benefit from Jeffrey’s talents and leadership, from his insight and expertise in product development and commercialization,” said Samareh Azeredo da Silveira Lajaunias, PhD, Managing Director at Combioxin. “Jeffrey brings a unique perspective for the development of our lead product CAL02 and valuable guidance for our business strategy.”

Combioxin SA is a clinical-stage company which develops innovative anti-virulence treatments for severe bacterial infections, including those caused by antibiotic-resistant strains. The lead candidate, CAL02, is a first-in-class, clinical-stage non-antibiotic liposomal drug that neutralizes a large panel of bacterial toxins, protects against infection severity and complications, and improves antibiotic efficacy.

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