Lixte Biotechnology Holdings Announces New Appointment to Board of Directors
20 Ottobre 2008 - 3:20PM
PR Newswire (US)
EAST SETAUKET, N.Y., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John S.
Kovach, M.D., Chair, Board of Directors and CEO of Lixte
Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (OTC:LIXT) (BULLETIN BOARD: LIXT) ,
announces the appointment of Mel Sorensen, M.D. to the company's
Board of Directors. Dr. Sorensen is currently Board Director,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascenta Therapeutics. He
is a highly experienced leader and administrator in cancer
therapeutics and cancer drug development. Trained as a medical
oncologist, Dr. Sorensen has dedicated his career to clinical
cancer research and cancer drug development. After completing his
oncology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN in 1988, Dr.
Sorensen spent seven years at the National Cancer Institute's (NCI)
Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). At CTEP, he managed
collaborations between companies developing new anti-cancer agents
and academic clinics and clinical cooperative groups. He had
responsibility for over 40 research compounds. Following NCI, Dr.
Sorensen spent nearly eight years at large pharmaceutical companies
in leadership roles in oncology clinical development and medical
affairs. He established Bayer's first clinical oncology department
and oversaw multiple clinical trials (Phase 1, 2 and 3) of novel
agents. He subsequently joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as
Vice-President, Global Leader and North American Head of Clinical
Development and Medical Affairs for Oncology, where he recruited a
large team of physicians and scientists and led global clinical
development of chemotherapeutic agents. While at GSK and Bayer, he
was very active in business development, facilitating several
in-licensing agreements and joint collaborations (including Onyx,
SB, Corixa, Nippon Kayaku, and Hoffmann-La Roche). Dr. Sorensen
joined Ascenta Therapeutics in August 2004. Under his leadership,
in less than three years Ascenta was transformed from a 5-person
start-up with a single preclinical program into a clinical-stage
company with over 65 full time employees and facilities in the US
and China and development programs against three distinct targets.
Ascenta has raised $82 million in two rounds of financing, opened
offices in San Diego and in the greater Philadelphia area, and
established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai. Throughout his
career, Dr. Sorensen has been also been active in fostering
public-private collaborations for clinical cancer research
including the National Cancer Institute, C-Change, Friends of
Cancer Research and other organizations. He is a frequent speaker
and panel participant on optimizing cancer R&D, including
presentations at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC, the
2004 Bioethical Symposium in Tampa, FL, the 2005 Tokyo Pharma
Partnering Conference &, the 2005 Shanghai Bio-Forum
conference, the 2005 Milken Institute Global Conference
("Biopharmaceuticals: The Innovation Pipeline Race"), BIO 2006
("Early-Stage Business Models in Cancer"), the 2007 R&D
Leaders' Forum ("Biotech R&D Across Borders: The Ascenta
Experience") Philadelphia, PA, and the 2007 China R&D Summit
("Making Innovative Medicines Faster and Cost-Efficiently"),
Shanghai, CN. "We are extremely pleased that Dr. Sorensen has
joined the Lixte Biotechnology board of directors. Mel is
internationally recognized for his expertise in clinical oncology
and in meeting the challenges of cancer drug development. In
addition to his depth of knowledge and experience in applied cancer
research, he has demonstrated remarkable administrative skills in
bringing together the expertise of the diverse groups needed for
the effective and safe development of important new anti-cancer
drugs. We very much look forward to working with him," stated Dr.
Kovach. About Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.: Lixte is a
biotechnology company engaged in development of improved treatments
for cancer and improved methods for detecting cancer. As such,
Lixte is both a cancer therapeutics company and a cancer
diagnostics company. Lixte was created to capitalize on
opportunities to develop low cost, specific and sensitive tests for
the early detection of cancers. Over the past two years, however,
the Company has evolved into what is now primarily a cancer drug
discovery company, using biomarker technology to develop new
potentially more effective anti-cancer drugs. The Company is
developing new treatments for several cancers for which better
treatments are urgently needed. The primary focus is on the most
common and most aggressive type of brain cancer of adults,
glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM"). The research on brain tumors is
being conducted with the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke ("NINDS") of the National Institutes of Health
("NIH") under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
("CRADA"). The Company has expanded the scope of its program to
other cancers of neural tissue (nerve and brain), including
medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumor of children, and
neuroblastoma, the most common cancer of children, and to other
common cancers of adults. The program was expanded because each of
two distinct types of drugs being developed by Lixte inhibits the
growth of cell lines of GBM, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, and
pancreatic cancer in animal models of these diseases and is also
active against breast, colon, lung, prostate, ovary, stomach and
liver cancer and the major types of leukemias in cell culture.
Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. For example, statements regarding the Company's
financial position, business strategy and other plans and
objectives for future operations, and assumptions and predictions
about future product demand, supply, manufacturing, costs,
marketing and pricing factors are all forward-looking statements.
These statements are generally accompanied by words such as
"intend," anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "potential(ly),"
"continue," "forecast," "predict," "plan," "may," "will," "could,"
"would," "should," "expect" or the negative of such terms or other
comparable terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions
and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, based on information available to it on the date
hereof, but the Company cannot provide assurances that these
assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct or
that the Company will take any action that the Company may
presently be planning. However, these forward-looking statements
are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and
uncertainties. Actual results or experience may differ materially
from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory policies,
available cash, research results, competition from other similar
businesses, and market and general economic factors. This
discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed
consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in
Item 1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the quarter
ending June 30, 2007. For additional information, please see:
http://www.lixte.com/ EquityGroups.com
http://www.equitygroups.com/otcbb/lixt.html For Investor
Information, please contact: Jane Trigg 631-830-7092 DATASOURCE:
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Jane Trigg,
+1-631-830-7092, for Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. Web site:
http://www.lixte.com/ http://www.equitygroups.com/otcbb/lixt.html
Copyright