Company Implements Leadership Succession Plan for Drug Development Team
MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany and PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-
FirstCall/ -- GPC Biotech AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: GPC; TecDAX index;
Nasdaq: GPCB) today announced a restructuring that will involve U.S. staff
reductions of approximately 15 percent of the Company's total workforce.
GPC Biotech also announced today that, as part of a succession plan that
was put into place in 2006, Martine George, M.D. will succeed Marcel
Rozencweig, M.D. as Senior Vice President, Drug Development and Chief
Medical Officer and will assume leadership of the Company's drug
development team. Dr. Rozencweig will remain with the Company in the new
role of Senior Vice President, Clinical Science and Drug Evaluation to
focus on identifying and pursuing new drug development in-licensing
opportunities.
Bernd R. Seizinger, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, said: "The
decision to reduce staff has been a very difficult one to make,
particularly since we have been able to build and grow such stellar teams.
However, these decisions were necessary as we focus on moving the Company
forward and planning for our future. I would like to express my sincere
appreciation to the affected employees for their important contributions to
GPC Biotech. I would also like to emphasize that our belief in satraplatin
remains strong and we are committed to doing everything we can to bring
satraplatin successfully to the market."
Dr. Seizinger continued: "We hired Dr. Martine George over a year ago
as part of a succession plan to ensure a smooth transition in the critical
area of drug development, as Dr. Rozencweig had indicated that he would
like to gradually reduce his operational involvement. Dr. George's
extensive experience in driving oncology development at major
pharmaceutical companies and her strong contributions since joining GPC
Biotech make her well-suited to move our development efforts forward and
build on the excellent work of Dr. Rozencweig. I am happy that Dr.
Rozencweig has agreed to stay with GPC Biotech and help us as we intensify
our efforts to in-license promising compounds as well as continue to
support us with the preparations for re-filing our NDA for satraplatin
based on the overall survival analysis. He is an important member of our
senior management team, and his strong network in the oncology community
and many years of development experience will continue to be invaluable
resources to the Company."
Martine George, M.D. joined GPC Biotech as Senior Vice President,
Clinical Development in the spring of 2006. At that time Dr. George, a
well-known oncology expert, had over fifteen years of experience at major
pharmaceutical companies, as well as several years in an academic position
as a medical oncologist. Prior to joining GPC Biotech, Dr. George was
Senior Vice President, Head of Oncology at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical
Research and Development. Before that she held a number of executive
positions in the areas of clinical and medical affairs, including at
Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now part of Sanofi-Aventis), Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
Corporation (now Novartis) and American Cyanamid.
The Company's restructuring plan involves a staff reduction of 46 of
currently 316 employees or approximately 15% of the total workforce. All
affected staff are based in the U.S., with reductions in the
commercialization, drug development and general and administrative groups.
Affected employees will be eligible for severance packages that include
severance pay, continuation of benefits and outplacement services. The
Company has retained a core team in all affected functional areas which can
serve as a basis for rebuilding in the future. The Company is also
retaining the personnel needed to prepare and file as quickly as possible a
potential NDA for satraplatin based on overall survival results.
GPC Biotech is also planning to slow down certain ongoing activities
and not make further financial commitments to its 1D09C3 monoclonal
antibody and cell cycle inhibitors programs at this time. However, the
Company plans to maintain the capability to ramp up these programs later,
should more resources be available to do so. The Company also plans to
continue ongoing satraplatin trials, including the SPERA expanded access
program.
About GPC Biotech
GPC Biotech AG is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused
on discovering, developing and commercializing new anticancer drugs. GPC
Biotech's lead product candidate satraplatin is currently in a Phase 3
registrational trial in second-line hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
Satraplatin was in-licensed from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. GPC Biotech
has ongoing various drug development and discovery programs and also has an
active program to identify and pursue promising drug development
in-licensing opportunities. GPC Biotech AG is headquartered in
Martinsried/Munich (Germany) and has a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary
headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. For additional information, please
visit GPC Biotech's Web site at http://www.gpc- biotech.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which express
the current beliefs and expectations of the management of GPC Biotech AG.
Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks
and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause
future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from
the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially
depending on a number of factors, and we caution investors not to place
undue reliance on the forward- looking statements contained in this press
release. In particular, there can be no guarantee that the results from the
final analysis of overall survival data from the SPARC trial will be
available when anticipated or sufficient to support regulatory approval in
the United States or elsewhere. In addition, there can be no guarantee that
additional information relating to the safety, efficacy or tolerability of
satraplatin will not be obtained upon further analysis of data from the
SPARC trial or analysis of additional data from other ongoing clinical
trials for satraplatin. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that satraplatin
will be approved for marketing in a timely manner, if at all, by regulatory
authorities nor that, if marketed, satraplatin will be a successful
commercial product. Additionally, we cannot guarantee that our efforts to
in-license drug development candidates will be successful nor that, if we
do in-license candidates, these programs will be successfully developed and
approved for marketing. We direct you to GPC Biotech's Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and other reports
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional
details on the important factors that may affect the future results,
performance and achievements of GPC Biotech. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date on which they are made and GPC Biotech undertakes
no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new
information becomes available in the future.
Satraplatin has not yet been approved by the FDA in the U.S., the EMEA
in Europe or any other regulatory authority and no conclusions can or
should be drawn regarding its safety or effectiveness. Only the relevant
regulatory authorities can determine whether satraplatin is safe and
effective for the use(s) being investigated.
SOURCE GPC Biotech AG
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Related links:
http://www.gpc-biotech.com
CONTACT:
Germany- Martin Braendle, Director, Investor
Relations & Corporate Communications, +49(0) 89-8565-2693,
ir@gpc-biotech.com, or U.S.- Laurie Doyle, Director, Investor
Relations & Corporate Communications, +1-609-524-5884,
usinvestors@gpc-biotech.com; Additional Media Contacts- In
Europe- Maitland, Brian Hudspith, +44 (0)20 7379 5151,
bhudspith@maitland.co.uk, or In the U.S.- Russo Partners, LLC,
David Schull, +1-212-845-4271, david.schull@russopartnersllc.com
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