ARCA Discovery: Names CEO

ARCA Discovery, Inc., (Denver,CO) a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically-targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, announced that Richard B. Brewer has been appointed President and CEO.

Prior to ARCA Discovery Mr. Brewer was managing partner at Crest Asset Management, previously, Mr. Brewer was president and CEO of Scios, Inc. (NYSE: JNJ), served as chief operating officer of Heartport, and was Senior Vice President of Genentech (NASDAQ: DNA).

ARCA’s lead product Bucindolol is a next-generation beta-blocker for advanced heart failure and other indications, which promises to be the first genetically-targeted cardiovascular drug. Extensive Phase III data shows that bucindolol is likely to be an effective and well-tolerated therapy for many heart failure patients that can be targeted to those patients most likely to respond favorably – thereby overcoming a major problem with current treatment approaches. A large substudy from a Phase III trial published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that a common genetic variation in the beta-1 adrenergic receptor may help doctors identify heart failure patients who may benefit most from bucindolol. Data presented at the 2005 American Heart Association Meeting from the same DNA substudy demonstrates further enhancement of bucindolol’s efficacy by targeting both the beta-1 variant and a variant of the alpha-2c-adrenergic receptor. ARCA Discovery has exclusive, worldwide rights to bucindolol and intends to seek FDA approval of the drug next year.