FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abgenix, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ABGX) announced today the appointment of Jeffrey H. Knapp to the
newly created position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In
this position, Mr. Knapp will report directly to Bill Ringo, chief executive
officer and president of Abgenix, and will be responsible for building and
leading Abgenix's commercial capabilities.
Mr. Knapp is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive with more than
15 years of commercial experience in therapeutic oncology, including the
promotion of targeted and cytotoxic therapeutic products. He has led national
oncology sales and marketing organizations, and prepared multiple products for
launch in the U.S. marketplace. For the majority of his executive career,
Mr. Knapp held several positions of increasing responsibility at Eli Lilly,
including Global Marketing Director for the company's oncology franchise. He
served most recently as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Pharmion
Corporation. Previously he was Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing at
EMD Pharmaceuticals, the U.S. affiliate of Merck KGaA. Mr. Knapp holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Wittenberg University.
"Jeff possesses a strong background in therapeutic oncology and commercial
operations, and we are delighted to have him join our organization," said Mr.
Ringo. "Together, we will work closely on laying a firm foundation for our
future sales organization, and, in coordination with our partner, Amgen, we
will begin planning for the potential co-promotion of panitumumab in the U.S."
"Our biological license application for panitumumab will be based
primarily on the positive results of our pivotal study announced last week,
and we continue to work closely with Amgen toward initiating the submission in
2005 and completing it in the first quarter of 2006," Mr. Ringo concluded.
About Abgenix
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery,
development and manufacturing of fully human therapeutic antibodies. The
company's antibody development platform includes a leading antibody technology
and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that enable the rapid
generation, selection and production of high affinity antibodies with the
potential to target disease. Abgenix leverages its leadership position in
human antibody technology to build a diversified product portfolio through its
own development efforts and the establishment of collaborations with multiple
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information on Abgenix,
visit the company's website at http://www.abgenix.com.
Statements made in this press release about Abgenix's technologies,
product development activities, clinical study results, timing of potential
FDA filings for and commercialization of panitumumab, and collaborative and
co-promotion arrangements, other than statements of historical fact, are
forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made,
including risks associated with conducting clinical trials, the progress of
research and product development programs, product manufacturing, regulatory
filing, review and approval processes, competitive products and services,
future capital requirements and the extent and breadth of Abgenix's patent
portfolio. Please see Abgenix's public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for information about risks that may affect Abgenix,
including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and periodic
reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Abgenix is providing this information as of
the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Abgenix, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.abgenix.com
CONTACT:
Greg Mann, Director, Corporate Communications
& Investor Relations of Abgenix, Inc., +1-510-284-6656
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