SAN DIEGO, Nov. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tocagen Inc.,
a clinical-stage selective cancer immunotherapy company, today
announced that Faheem Hasnain,
president and chief executive officer of Receptos, Inc. (Nasdaq:
RCPT), has been appointed as chairman of the board of
directors.
"Faheem's impressive track record and extensive experience
leading the development and commercialization of novel oncology and
immunology drugs brings valuable insight and strategic guidance to
Tocagen as we advance towards late-stage clinical trials of Toca
511 and Toca FC in patients with high grade glioma," said
Harry Gruber, M.D., chief executive
officer of Tocagen. "We are delighted that Faheem has joined us as
chairman of the board."
Added Mr. Hasnain, "Tocagen has an excellent scientific
foundation and an exciting future for its lead- and second
generation-gene therapies that are designed to help cancer patients
activate their immune systems to fight their cancers. I look
forward to working closely with Harry, the board and the Tocagen
leadership team to contribute to the continued growth and success
of the company."
Mr. Hasnain is a distinguished industry leader with over 30
years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Presently,
he serves as chairman of the board of Sente, Inc. Previously, he
was chairman of the board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation,
acquired by Daiichi Sankyo Company, and he served on the board of
directors of Seragon Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Roche; Aragon
Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Johnson & Johnson; and Tercica,
Inc., acquired by Ipsen.
Prior to joining Receptos, Mr. Hasnain was the president and
chief executive officer and a director of Facet Biotech, an
antibody company acquired by Abbott Laboratories with a focus on
multiple sclerosis and oncology. Before Facet Biotech was spun off
from PDL BioPharma, Inc., Mr. Hasnain was president, chief
executive officer and a director of PDL BioPharma. Prior to this
position, Mr. Hasnain held various roles at Biogen Idec Inc., most
recently serving as executive vice president of the
oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. Prior to this role,
Mr. Hasnain held roles with Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was
president of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, as well as
GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations.
About Tocagen Inc.
Tocagen is a clinical-stage selective cancer immunotherapy
company pursuing discovery, development and commercialization of
gene therapy drugs using a novel retroviral replicating vector
platform. These therapies are designed to help patients fight their
cancer by locally activating their immune system selectively
against their cancer, with subsequent systemic benefit.
Tocagen has received grant support from leading brain cancer
foundations, including Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2),
National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), American Brain Tumor
Association (ABTA), Musella Foundation and Voices Against Brain
Cancer (VABC). For more information about Tocagen or Toca 511 &
Toca FC please visit www.tocagen.com or www.clinicaltrials.gov
using the identifier NCT01470794, NCT01156584 or NCT01985256.
About Toca 511 & Toca FC
Toca 511 & Toca FC, the company's lead investigational
combination product, is being evaluated in three clinical trials in
patients with recurrent high grade glioma, including glioblastoma
(GBM). Toca 511 & Toca FC is designed to have a dual mechanism
of action. Toca 511 delivers a prodrug-activating gene
selectively to cancer cells. Then the prodrug-activating enzyme
produced in the cancer cell activates orally administered Toca FC,
an extended-release formulation of 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), into a
powerful antimetabolite, 5-FU, selectively in the cancer. The
production of 5-FU locally kills tumor cells, which leads to
prolonged and selective anticancer immune responses in animal
models. Data from ongoing clinical trials show encouraging safety
and tolerability, antitumor activity, and evidence to support the
proposed mechanism of action. Based on these data the company is
now planning to commence late stage clinical trials in patients
with high grade glioma.
SOURCE Tocagen Inc.