NovoCure Ltd. Appoints Four New Independent Members to its Board of Directors
ST. HELIER, Jersey, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Novocure Limited announced today the appointment of Louis J. Lavigne Jr., James T. Lenehan, Robert J. Mylod Jr. and Charles G. Phillips III to its board of directors. The new members are independent directors and provide Novocure extensive financial and healthcare industry expertise. Novocure is a private, commercial stage oncology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of NovoTTF Therapy, its novel and proprietary treatment for solid cancer tumors.
"The addition of this uncommonly talented group of independent directors underscores our determination to build a global oncology company capable of providing NovoTTF Therapy to cancer patients around the world," said William F. Doyle, Novocure's executive chairman. "We are pleased to add Lou, Jim, Bob and Chas to our board and expect their experience and skills to contribute significantly to our development as a commercial enterprise."
Louis J. Lavigne Jr. is currently Managing Director of Lavrite, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in the areas of corporate finance, accounting, growth strategy and management. Mr. Lavigne retired in March 2005 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Genentech, Inc. He currently serves on the boards of BMC Software, Inc., Accuray Inc., SafeNet, Inc. and Allergan, Inc., and is a member of Deloitte's Life Sciences Advisory Board. He also serves as a trustee of the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Babson College and Babson Global and Children's Hospital Oakland.
James T. Lenehan served in a variety of positions at Johnson & Johnson from October 1976 until he retired as President and Vice Chairman in June 2004. During his 28-year tenure with Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Lenehan held executive positions including President of McNeil Consumer Products Company, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices and Diagnostics Group and Worldwide Chairman, Consumer Pharmaceuticals & Professional Group. He is a member of the board of directors of Medtronic Inc.
Robert J. Mylod Jr. served as Vice Chairman and Head of Worldwide Strategy and Planning at priceline.com from January 2009 to March 2011. Prior to being named Vice Chairman, Mr. Mylod served as priceline.com's Chief Financial Officer from November 2000. Before joining priceline.com, Mr. Mylod was a Principal at Stonington Partners, a private equity investment firm. Mr. Mylod also serves on the board of directors of EverBank Financial Corp.
Charles G. Phillips III served as Chief Operating Officer of Prentice Capital Management, LLC, an investment management firm, from 2005 until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Phillips was previously a managing director from 1991 to 2002 and President from 1998 to 2001 of Gleacher & Co., and its successor, Gleacher NatWest, an investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisition and direct private investment. Prior to joining Gleacher, Mr. Phillips held senior positions at other leading investment banking firms, including nine years at Morgan Stanley where he was a Managing Director and member of the Operating Committee within the investment banking division. Mr. Phillips has served on the boards of many public and private companies and private investment funds, and on the governing bodies of a number of educational and non-profit organizations; he also spent a semester in residence as a visiting instructor at the University of Virginia's Darden School.
In December 2011, Novocure began the phased, commercial launch for NovoTTF Therapy in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM). Today, oncologists at more than 60 of the nation's leading neuro-oncology centers are certified to provide NovoTTF Therapy to patients. The company is also sponsoring a phase III clinical trial of NovoTTF Therapy in combination with chemotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed GBM and is planning additional clinical trials of NovoTTF Therapy both as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy for other solid tumor indications, including brain metastases and non-small cell lung cancer.
"Our goal is to establish NovoTTF Therapy as the fourth modality of solid tumor cancer treatment, adding to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy," said Asaf Danziger, Novocure's CEO. "I look forward to working with Lou, Jim, Bob and Chas to achieve this goal."
The new board members join current directors, William Burkoth; Asaf Danziger; William F. Doyle; Timothy J. Langloss ; Gabriel K. Leung; Yoram Palti, MD, Ph.D.; Lennart Perlhagen; and W. Anthony Vernon.
About Novocure
Novocure Limited is a private oncology company pioneering a novel therapy for solid tumors. Novocure's worldwide headquarters is located in Jersey Isle. Novocure's US operations are based in New York, NY and Portsmouth, NH and the company's research center is located in Haifa, Israel. For additional information about the company, please visit www.novocure.com.
About NovoTTF Therapy and the NovoTTF-100A System
NovoTTF Therapy is delivered by a portable, non-invasive medical device designed for continuous use throughout the day by the patient. The device has been shown in in vitro and in vivo studies to slow and reverse tumor growth by inhibiting mitosis, the process by which cells divide and replicate. The delivery system weighs about six pounds (three kilograms) and creates a low intensity, alternating electric field within the tumor that exerts physical forces on electrically charged cellular components, preventing the normal mitotic process and causing cancer cell death prior to division. In patients with recurrent glioblastoma brain tumors, treatment with NovoTTF Therapy has been shown to provide patients with efficacy outcomes comparable to active chemotherapy with fewer side effects and a better quality of life. The NovoTTF-100A System, a NovoTTF Therapy delivery system, has received marketing approval in the US and is a CE Marked device cleared for sale in the European Union and Switzerland.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the NovoTTF-100A System for use as a treatment for adult patients (22 years of age or older) with histologically-confirmed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), following histologically or radiologically-confirmed recurrence in the supratentorial region of the brain after receiving chemotherapy. The device is intended to be used as monotherapy, and is intended as an alternative to standard medical therapy for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted.
Patients should only use the NovoTTF-100A System under the supervision of a physician properly trained in use of the device. Full prescribing information is available at www.novottftherapy.com or by calling toll free 1-855-281-9301.
Todd Longsworth
VP, Legal Affairs
(212) 767 6549
tlongsworth@novocure.com
SOURCE Novocure