Mr Engle succeeds Jack Castello, the company’s former president and CEO, who announced his retirement plans earlier this year. Mr Castello will remain with the company as non-executive chairman of the board during a transition period, expected to run through October of 2007.
“On behalf of the Xoma board, I couldn’t be more pleased that Steve has joined Xoma to serve as the company’s next president and CEO,” said Denny Van Ness, a member of Xoma’s board of directors who led the succession search. “His leadership experience in our industry, together with his expertise in therapeutic products, operations and corporate development, make him the right person to lead Xoma forward.”
Mr Engle previously served as chairman of the board and CEO of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, a publicly-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of therapeutic products for autoimmune and antibody-mediated diseases.