Dr Ismail Kola Joins Astex Therapeutics Board

Cambridge, UK, 25th May 2010. Astex Therapeutics, the UK-based biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for oncology and virology, announced that Dr Ismail Kola has joined its Board of Directors.

Dr Kola is currently Executive Vice President of UCB S.A in Belgium where he was appointed in November 2009 and also holds the title President, New Medicines. Dr Kola joined UCB from Schering Plough Corporation where he was Senior Vice President, Discovery Research and Early Clinical Research & Experimental Medicine at Schering-Plough Research Institute, the pharmaceutical research arm of Schering-Plough Corporation, and Chief Scientific Officer, Schering Plough Corporation.

Prior to Schering-Plough, Dr Kola held senior positions at Merck, as Senior Vice President and Site Head, Basic Research. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Research, and Global Head, Genomics Science and Biotechnology with Pharmacia Corporation, and served as a consultant to SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals where he was also a member of the Genomics Advisory Board.

He holds Adjunct Professorships of Medicine at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, USA, and at Monash University Medical School, Melbourne, Australia; a Foreign Adjunct Professorship at The Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and is a William Pitt Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, UK. Dr Kola has a Ph.D. in Medicine from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Peter Fellner, Astex’s Non-Executive Chairman, said, “I am delighted that Ismail has decided to join Astex’s Board at this time in the Company’s development. With three of our products about to enter into Phase II clinical trials, Ismail’s exceptionally broad experience in pharmaceutical research and development will be an enormous asset to Astex as we continue to capture the value of the Company’s technology and products going forward”

Ismail Kola said: “I’m pleased to be joining Astex’s Board at such an exciting time in the Company’s development. Astex’s industry-leading and highly productive drug discovery platform, its multiple products in clinical development and its high-profile strategic collaborations with industry leaders, have all helped to define the Company as a “stand out” player in today’s biotechnology sector. I am excited to have an opportunity to help contribute to the Company’s future growth and success."