Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Expands Development Leadership Team to Focus on Late-Stage Development of Voreloxin (Formerly SNS-595)
June 03 2008 - 3:19PM
PR Newswire (US)
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) today announced the
expansion of its late-stage development leadership team with the
appointment of industry veterans Steven B. Ketchum, Ph.D., as
Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Mary G. Bolton,
M.D., Ph.D., as Vice President, Clinical Development. In addition,
Judith A. Fox, Ph.D., has been promoted to Vice President, Product
and Preclinical Development and Glenn C. Michelson, M.D., has been
promoted to Vice President, Clinical Strategy. "As our lead
anti-cancer product candidate, voreloxin, continues to demonstrate
promising clinical activity and a consistent safety profile in both
acute myeloid leukemia and ovarian cancer, we are excited to
welcome Drs. Steve Ketchum and Mary Bolton to Sunesis," said Daniel
Swisher, Sunesis' Chief Executive Officer. "We are also pleased to
announce the promotions of Drs. Judy Fox and Glenn Michelson. Judy
and Glenn have made tremendous contributions to our voreloxin
development program. Collectively, the extensive product
development and regulatory expertise of this expanded leadership
team will be a tremendous asset as we prepare for the expected
initiation of late-stage trials for voreloxin next year." "With the
promising clinical activity and safety profile seen to date for
voreloxin, I am excited by the opportunity to lead Sunesis'
talented development organization as we advance this first-in-class
product candidate into its next phase of development," said Dr.
Ketchum. Dr. Ketchum brings more than fifteen years experience in
late-stage product development and clinical regulatory strategy,
having led the filings of multiple successful New Drug Applications
(NDAs) and supplemental NDAs (sNDAs). He joins Sunesis from Reliant
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President,
Research & Development and Medical Affairs. In this role, he
was responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day
operations, as well as the organizational growth, of Reliant's
clinical R&D and product development capabilities. Previously,
Dr. Ketchum served as Senior Vice President, Operations and
Regulatory Affairs for IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2002
to 2005, where he was responsible for regulatory affairs, project
management, quality assurance, and supply chain management in
support of late-stage clinical research. Dr. Ketchum also held
positions of increasing responsibility in regulatory affairs during
his nearly eight-year tenure at ALZA Corporation from 1994 to 2002,
most recently as Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs. He earned a
Ph.D. in Pharmacology from University College London (funded by the
Sandoz Institute for Medical Research) and a B.S. in Biological
Sciences from Stanford University. Over the past year, Dr. Bolton
has served as a consultant to Sunesis on the development of
voreloxin. As a medical oncologist, she brings more than a decade
of industry experience in the clinical development of oncology
therapeutics to her new post as Vice President, Clinical
Development. From 2004 to 2005, Dr. Bolton was Vice President,
Clinical Development for Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. responsible
for Phase 1-3 clinical development of the company's lead molecule.
Before that, she served as Medical Director with ZymoGenetics, Inc.
and as Medical Director for Cell Therapeutics, Inc., leading each
company's clinical development programs and providing input on
regulatory strategy. From 1999 to 2001, Dr. Bolton led the
Herceptin(R) post-marketing team at Genentech, Inc., where she
served as a Clinical Scientist. Prior to her industry experience,
Dr. Bolton spent several years as a practicing oncologist, most
recently as Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology at the Lombardi
Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center. She received
her Ph.D. from the Department of Physiology at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, her M.D. from the Medical College of
Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Boston University. Dr. Fox joined
Sunesis in 2006 as Senior Director, Program Leader and will now
have an expanded role as Vice President, Product and Preclinical
Development. Previously, she served as Senior Director in the
Translational Sciences Department for Chiron Corporation (now
Novartis AG) from 2005 to 2006, where she led the clinical
pharmacology and preclinical pharmokinetics (PK)/drug metabolism
group, supporting the development of the company's novel oncology
compounds. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Fox was Senior Director/Senior
Staff Scientist for Genencor International, where she started the
Pharmacological Sciences Department. Dr. Fox's industry career
began in the PK/Metabolism Department for Genentech, where she
ultimately led the group responsible for all oncology projects from
late-stage research through clinical development. This was preceded
by leadership of the immunology focus area within the PK/Metabolism
Department. During her ten years at Genentech, she contributed to
the development of products such as Herceptin(R), Xolair(R),
Raptiva(R) and Avastin(R). Dr. Fox received her Ph.D. in Biological
Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an
A.B. in Chemistry from Bryn Mawr College. She conducted
postdoctoral research at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Michelson
joined Sunesis in 2006 as Senior Director and Head of Clinical
Science, Oncology, bringing more than a decade of experience as a
medical oncologist and in drug development in both industry and
academic settings. Newly promoted to the position of Vice
President, Clinical Strategy, he will oversee the clinical
development of Sunesis' novel cancer therapeutics, with an emphasis
on the planning and execution of late-stage clinical studies
focused on regulatory approval. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Michelson
served as Director in the Clinical Oncology Therapeutic Unit at
Chiron (now Novartis AG), where he served as Medical Director and
as lead clinician for the company's kinase programs. Previously, he
was Medical Director, Clinical Development for Cell Therapeutics,
where he was responsible for Phase 3 studies of Xyotax(R). Dr.
Michelson began his pharmaceutical industry career at Pfizer Global
Research and Development (formerly Agouron), from 1998 to 2003,
where he led Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical development programs
in oncology. Dr. Michelson has held faculty positions at the
University of California, San Diego, and at the University of
Louisville, and has been a Principal Investigator for a number of
clinical trials. He received both his M.D. and B.A. in Chemistry
from the University of Louisville. Option Award Disclosure The
Compensation Committee of the company's Board of Directors approved
an employment commencement grant to Dr. Ketchum of a non-qualified
stock option to purchase 150,000 shares of Sunesis common stock,
effective June 30, 2008. Options covering 140,000 of these shares
were granted without shareholder approval pursuant to Nasdaq
Marketplace Rule 4350 (i)(1)(A)(iv) and with the following material
terms: (a) an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the
company's common stock on June 30, 2008, (b) a term of ten years,
and (c) a vesting schedule providing that the option is exercisable
as to one-quarter of the total grant on the first anniversary of
Dr. Ketchum's date of hire, and one-forty-eighth of the total grant
each month thereafter until the grant is fully vested. About
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Sunesis is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new
oncology therapeutics for the treatment of solid and hematologic
cancers. Sunesis has built a highly experienced cancer drug
development organization committed to advancing its lead product
candidate, voreloxin, in multiple indications to improve the lives
of people with cancer. For additional information on Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals, please visit http://www.sunesis.com/. Safe Harbor
Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements
including without limitation statements related to the future
development and timing of late-stage trials of voreloxin (formerly
SNS-595) and potential safety and efficacy and commercial potential
of voreloxin. Words such as "promising," "advance," "look forward,"
"expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based upon Sunesis' current expectations. Forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. Sunesis' actual results
and the timing of events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these
risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the
risk that Sunesis' drug development activities or those of its
partners, including enrollment and reporting of results, could be
halted significantly or delayed for various reasons; the risk that
Sunesis' clinical trials for voreloxin or its other programs may
not demonstrate safety or efficacy or lead to regulatory approval;
the risk that preliminary data and trends may not be predictive of
future data or results; the risk that Sunesis' preclinical studies
and clinical trials may not satisfy the requirements of the FDA or
other regulatory agencies; risks related to the conduct of Sunesis'
clinical trials and manufacturing; and risks related to Sunesis'
need for additional funding. These and other risk factors are
discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Sunesis' Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, Sunesis'
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008
and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sunesis expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company's
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
DATASOURCE: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Investors, Eric
Bjerkholt, SVP, Corp. Development & Finance of Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-650-266-3717; or Media, Karen L. Bergman,
+1-650-575-1509, or Michelle Corral, +1-415-794-8662, both of BCC
Partners, for Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web site:
http://www.sunesis.com/
Copyright
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2024 to Oct 2024
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2023 to Oct 2024