Trillium adds industry veteran Dr. Mike Gresser to its Board of Directors

TORONTO , Jan. 28 /CNW/ - Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (TTI), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immune-based biologics, today announced that Dr. Michael Gresser has joined its Board of Directors as an independent director. Trillium Chairman Dr . Michael Moore commented: "It is a great pleasure to welcome such an experienced biotech executive as Dr. Gresser to the Board. His widely acclaimed contribution to drug discovery and development in the immune-inflammatory field will greatly benefit Trillium."

Trillium's overall strategy is to build and solidify its reputation as a premier immunology company, by creating a broad and innovative pipeline of proprietary biologic product opportunities. The company has already captured long-term value and de-risked some of its projects through a series of partnerships with multinational companies. Trillium also has a demonstrated ability to identify and access promising early-stage technologies, and is on track to announce the in-licensing of additional projects in the near future, strengthening its existing immunology franchise.

"We are building a leading company in the immunology space. With his years of drug development experience, Dr. Gresser is an ideal director to assist in achieving Trillium's goals", added Dr. Michael Cross , a member of Trillium's Board of Directors and Partner, GrowthWorks Capital. "In building Trillium, our focus is on delivering outstanding science and creating strong alliances with world-class partners. Dr. Gresser 's substantial background and success in these areas will be of great value as we move forward."

About Dr. Michael Gresser:

Dr. Gresser received his PhD in Biochemistry in 1976 and after postdoctoral studies at the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA he joined the Department of Chemistry at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1988 Dr. Gresser Joined the Merck Frosst Center for Therapeutic Research in Kirkland, Quebec as Director of Biochemistry. Over the next twelve years he progressed to Executive Director of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and his team worked on a variety of small molecule drug discovery programs, resulting in the introduction of numerous molecules into clinical trials. Two of these molecules, Singulair and Vioxx, became products. In 2000 Dr. Gresser joined Amgen Inc. in Thousand Oaks, California, as Vice President, Research Inflammation, where he remained until April, 2006. His team at Amgen worked on many molecular targets, introducing numerous small molecules, human antibodies, and other proteins into development. Currently Dr. Gresser serves as CSO of Oxford BioTherapeutics, and is also Visiting Scholar at the Molecular Biology Institute at UCLA.

About Trillium:

Trillium Therapeutics Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company specializing in innovative therapies of immune-mediated conditions, such as autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, as well as cancer. The company's lead program, TTI-1612, is a recombinant growth factor that is being developed for the treatment of interstitial cystitis (IC) and the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Trillium has broad portfolio preclinical immunology programs, including two that target the CD200 immunoregulatory axis; a CD200-specific monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cancer, and a CD200Fc fusion protein for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In addition, the company has an FcRIIa-specific humanized monoclonal antibody in development for treatment of immune complex-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Trillium has a broad network of external academic and industry R&D collaborations, including several license agreements with major US biotechnology companies. The Company is supported by three premier venture capital investors: Vengrowth Private Equity Partners, Growthworks Capital and BDC Capital.

For further information: Niclas Stiernholm, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Trillium Therapeutics Inc., 96 Skyway Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M9W 4Y9, Canada, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], [email protected], www.trilliumtherapeutics.com