Tonix Pharmaceuticals has appointed Joseph Hand as General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Operations, a strategic move that brings significant legal and corporate leadership experience to the biopharmaceutical company. Hand's extensive background includes pivotal roles in major corporate transactions, most notably his involvement in Celgene's $74 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb and the $13.4 billion divestiture of Otezla® to Amgen.
The appointment comes at a critical time for Tonix, which is preparing to submit a New Drug Application to the FDA this month for TNX-102 SL, a potential treatment for fibromyalgia. The company has already completed two statistically significant phase 3 studies for the drug, which has received Fast Track designation from the FDA and was generally well-tolerated in clinical trials.
Hand's expertise is expected to bolster Tonix's strategic positioning as the company advances its development portfolio focused on central nervous system disorders, rare diseases, and infectious disease treatments. His leadership experience across legal, human resources, and corporate services sectors positions him to support the company's ongoing clinical development and potential commercialization efforts.
Beyond the fibromyalgia treatment, Tonix is also developing other promising candidates, including TNX-1300 for cocaine intoxication and TNX-1500, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting potential organ transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases. The company recently secured a significant contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for up to $34 million to develop antiviral agents targeting biological threat environments.
With Hand's appointment, Tonix appears poised to leverage his extensive corporate and legal expertise as it advances its innovative therapeutic pipeline and seeks to bring novel treatments to market.
