XOMA Appoints Rubin as CMO

Paul Rubin, M.D., has been appointed vice president and chief medical officer at XOMA Ltd. Patrick J. Scannon, M.D., Ph.D., a XOMA founder who held this role since March of 2009, will now serve as executive vice president and chief scientific officer. Dr. Rubin is a senior biopharma executive with expertise in antibodies, small molecules and inflammatory diseases. He was responsible for clinical development and approval of several products while at Sepracor and Abott Laboratories.

“Paul has directed the development of more than ten approved pharmaceutical and biotechnology products, experience that will be instrumental for the advancement of our proprietary pipeline,” said Steve B. Engle, XOMA’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Prior to joining XOMA, Dr. Rubin served as chief medical officer at Funxional Therapeutics Ltd., chief executive officer of Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, and president and chief executive officer of Critical Therapeutics. At Sepracor, Dr. Rubin served as senior vice president, development, and later as executive vice president, R&D. He was responsible for the successful development of all of Sepracor’s internally developed approved products, including Xopenex, Lunesta, Xopenex HFA and Brovana. At Abbott, he served as vice president, Immunology and Endocrinology, where he successfully advanced zilueton, the first 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor for the treatment of asthma.