Healthcare Industry News: neuroblastoma
News Release - September 23, 2008
Neotropix Appoints Anthony Williams, M.D., as Its Chief Medical Officer
MALVERN, PA--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--Sep 23, 2008 -- Neotropix(TM), Inc., a clinical-stage development company focused in neuroendocrine cancer treatments, today announced the appointment of Anthony Williams, M.D., as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Williams has more than 25 years of drug development experience, working for major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Merrell Dow and Dyax Corporation.In this new role as CMO, Dr. Williams is the most senior physician of the company with primary responsibility for patient safety, general medical governance, ethics and integrity, medical information and investigations involving human subjects relating to Neotropix's anti-cancer products in clinical development.
Peter Lanciano, Chief Executive Officer of Neotropix, commented on today's announcement, "The CMO role unquestionably represents a very important role at Neotropix, especially during a time when we are expanding clinical trials of our lead anti-cancer agent, NTX-010, a tumor-selective naturally-occurring oncolytic virus."
"We are excited to have Tony as a member of the team," Lanciano continued. "His depth of medical expertise, general management and business development experience in both large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as his proven leadership skills make him ideally suited for this critical role within Neotropix."
Dr. Williams joins Neotropix from Synta Pharmaceuticals, where he was Vice President of Medical Research and part of the GlaxoSmithKline-Synta development team, leading oncology drug development efforts in melanoma, ovarian and prostatic cancers, including the development of a Phase III study currently underway. A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London, he studied at The University of Cambridge and the University of London.
"Neotropix is a company that has the highest scientific and ethical values," Dr. Williams said. "Its lead product, NTX-010, a natural oncolytic virus, is an exciting drug to treat cancer for which we have preliminary evidence of biological effect in man. I look forward to being part of the Neotropix team."
About NTX-010 and the Current Clinical Trial Underway
NTX-010 is a natural novel oncolytic virus, which is highly selective for certain tumor cell types expressing at least one of the required permissivity biomarkers (synaptophysin, chromogranin A, or CD56). Unlike previous oncolytic virus product candidates developed by others, NTX-010 is a stable, naturally occurring virus, which has not been observed to be pathogenic to humans, and therefore, has not had to be genetically modified.
Additionally, NTX-010 can be systemically delivered in a single infusion on an outpatient basis at each of the treatment centers, which simplifies the treatment process for patients. The product is anticipated to have enhanced efficacy and less toxicity than currently approved therapies for permissive cancers.
The clinical trial is being conducted at multiple institutions around the country, including John Hopkins (MD), Mary Crowley (TX), and many US Oncology Cooperative Group treatment sites (FL, IN, NY, OH, SC, TX, VA, WA). Additionally, there are other treatment centers joining the trial in the New England area.
The current Phase I/II clinical trial is enrolling adults that meet the criteria for the following cancers: carcinoid cancers (all types), large cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, malignant mesenchymal tumor, Ewing's family of tumors, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, soft tissue sarcomas, germ cell and epithelial neoplasms, Wilms tumor, neuroepithelioma, rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroectodermal tumors, medulloblastoma and adenocarcinoma. For more information about the clinical trials please go to: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00314925?term=seneca+valley&rank=1
About Neotropix
Neotropix(TM) Inc. is focused on the development of anti-cancer products that have a high degree of selectivity for tissues resulting in both therapeutic efficacy and an excellent safety and tolerability profile. Neotropix develops and commercializes systemically deliverable oncolytic viruses for the treatment of solid tumors. Capitalizing on its unique sources of naturally occurring viruses that selectively target tumors discovered using the Company's proprietary technology platform Viruscreen(TM), the Company has the knowledge and skills to translate these discoveries into commercial products. Neotropix is committed to making a difference in the lives of cancer patients.
Neotropix commenced operations in 2005 in Malvern, Pennsylvania and is venture-capital-funded company by investors including Aurora Funds, Quaker BioVentures and VIMAC Ventures. For more information, please visit http://www.neotropix.com.
Source: Neotropix
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