GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Panacea Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. today announced the appointment of Stephen N. Keith, MD, MSPH as
President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Keith will have responsibility
for directing the company's therapeutic product development efforts for
cancer and stroke, clinical development process for cancer diagnostics, as
well as launching the cancer diagnostic laboratory services.
"We are very pleased to add Stephen to the team at Panacea," commented
Hossein Ghanbari, PhD, Chairman, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at
Panacea Pharmaceuticals. "He brings a broad and valuable set of experiences
to Panacea, including capital fund raising, clinical development, product
commercialization in the U.S. and foreign markets, regulatory affairs and
business development. Most importantly, Stephen has demonstrated
exceptional leadership in building life science companies."
Prior to joining Panacea, Dr. Keith was a Senior Consultant with the
Biologics Consulting Group and a Managing Director with Glocap Advisors
LLC, a boutique investment bank. He was a General Partner with Emerging
Technology Partners, an early-stage life sciences venture capital firm,
from 2002 to 2003. Dr. Keith has held a range of senior management
positions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Just prior to
joining ETP, he held the position of President and Chief Operating Officer
of Antex Biologics, Inc. From 1995 to 2000, Dr. Keith served as Vice
President, Marketing and Sales at North American Vaccine, Inc. From 1990 to
1995, Dr. Keith held various positions at Merck & Co., Inc. including
Senior Director, Health Care Delivery Policy in Corporate Public Affairs;
Senior Customer Manager in the U.S. Human Health Division; and Senior
Director, Health Strategies, in the Merck-Medco Managed Care Division.
Dr. Keith received the M.D. degree from the University of Illinois in
1977 and completed a three-year residency in Pediatrics at the University
of California, Los Angeles in 1980. From 1980 to 1982, he was a Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at UCLA, during which time he received
a Masters in Science in Public Health. From 1982 to 1987, Dr. Keith served
on the faculty of the Charles Drew Medical School and the UCLA School of
Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics. From 1987 to 1990, he served as a
Health Policy Advisor to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human
Resources under Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Dr. Keith is a Fellow of the
Academy of Pediatrics and a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics.
"I am excited to join Panacea and to work with Dr. Ghanbari, the Board
of Directors, and the Company's research and development staff to advance
our products toward commercialization," commented Dr. Keith. "Panacea's
therapeutic and diagnostic cancer products have strong potential to
significantly improve outcomes among individuals with a broad range of
cancers, including liver, prostate and breast cancer, along with leukemias
affecting children and adults. And our lead neuroprotectant product
candidate, PAN-811, could represent a breakthrough in reducing paralysis,
memory loss and other devastating consequences of ischemic stroke."
About Panacea's Oncology Platform
Panacea is pursuing the development of antibodies directed against
human aspartyl (asparaginyl) Beta-hydroxylase (HAAH) as novel agents for
the treatment of cancer with liver cancer as its first intended indication.
The Company is exploring both naked anti-HAAH antibodies, as well as
antibody conjugates with various chemotherapeutic agents as lead
candidates. Panacea is also pursuing the development of diagnostic products
based on anti-HAAH antibodies. A proprietary blood-based assay has shown
high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of a range of cancers and
responsiveness to chemotherapy, thus facilitating the diagnosis and
therapeutic management of disease. Initial targets for the HAAH diagnostic
products include prostate and liver cancers, along with tests to determine
responsiveness to a current therapy of choice in patients with chronic
myelogenous leukemia. Panacea anticipates the initiation of its diagnostic
testing services later in 2006.
About PAN-811
PAN-811 is a small-molecule that fully blocks hypoxic and ischemic
neuronal cell death at a dose of 1 micromolar in vitro and reduces infarct
volume by up to 59% in the middle cerebral artery occlusion rat model of
stroke. It manifests dual mechanistic functions including both
Ca2+-chelation and free radical-scavenging (Jiang, Z-G., et al., "A
multifunctional cytoprotective agent that reduces neurodegeneration after
ischemia," PNAS, Vol. 103, No. 5, 1581-1586, 2006). The toxicology and
pharmacokinetics of the drug candidate have been demonstrated, and it is
currently in Phase II clinical trials at the NIH for a cancer indication.
Panacea expects to begin in 2007 a Phase Ib human clinical trial to assess
PAN-811 as a treatment for transient ischemic stroke.
About Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately-held biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics
and diagnostics for diseases with substantial, unmet clinical needs. The
Company's product development strategy is based on novel therapeutic agents
and approaches for cancer treatment, as well as acute and chronic
neurodegenerative conditions, such as hypoxia-induced neurological insult,
Parkinson's Disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Panacea has an extensive
patent portfolio covering its neurodegenerative and oncology technologies.
More information about the Company is available at
http://www.PanaceaPharma.com.
Except for historical information presented in this press release,
matters discussed herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward- looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of
management only as of the date of this release and are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed
or implied by such statements. Factors that might cause such a difference
include, but are not limited to, uncertainties related to our access to
capital, the progress, costs, and results of any clinical trials undertaken
by us, progress of our research and development projects, and uncertainties
related to whether our product candidates would ultimately achieve
commercial success. We do not undertake any obligation to update publicly
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise unless required by law.
CONTACT: Stephen N. Keith, MD, MSPH, President & COO of Panacea
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-240-243-8010, Fax: +1-240-465-0450,
skeith@panaceapharma.com.
SOURCE Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.panaceapharma.com
CONTACT:
Stephen N. Keith, MD, MSPH, President & COO
of Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-240-243-8010, Fax:
+1-240-465-0450, skeith@panaceapharma.com
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