Dr. Barbara Fox of Wayland, founder and CEO of Avaxia Biologics, was named one of Mass High Tech’s Women to Watch in 2012.

The Women to Watch awards recognize women in the fields of technology and life sciences “who are go-getters, hardworking, inspirational and motivational to their peers.”

Dr. David Poorvin, member of the Board of Directors of Avaxia, said, “We are truly proud of this recognition of Dr. Fox’s achievements. She has been instrumental in building Avaxia Biologics from a creative idea into a developmental biotech company that will be testing its first drug candidate later this year.

“She is not only an innovative scientist, but also a motivational executive who leads by example. We are confident that she will continue to have a significant impact on drug development and the biotech communities in Massachusetts for years to come.”

Avaxia Biologics is a privately held biotech company that develops orally-active antibody therapeutics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

Avaxia is developing products for inflammatory bowel disease, GI acute radiation syndrome, celiac disease, oral mucositis, diabetes and obesity.

Prior to founding Avaxia Biologics, Fox was the founder, president and chief scientific officer of Recovery Pharmaceuticals, a company developing and marketing medications for the treatment of addiction.

Prior to founding Recovery Pharmaceuticals in 1998, she was vice president of immunology at ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. She joined ImmuLogic in 1993, having served on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Fox received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College and her PhD in chemistry from MIT. She trained as a post-doc in cellular immunology at the NIH.

Mass High Tech will honor Dr. Fox and 19 other awardees at a breakfast on May 11 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. This year’s honorees were selected from more than 100 nominations.

Sourced: http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/news/x1612623420/Wayland-resident-named-one-of-Women-to-Watch#axzz1paBbfL7x