DALLAS, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that Esteban Cvitkovic, M.D., Vice Chairman (Europe), has agreed to an expanded role at Access Pharmaceuticals as Senior Director, Oncology Clinical R&D. Dr. Cvitkovic’s efforts are focused on the development and registration of ProLindac(TM), Access’ novel DACH platinum drug, which is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe in patients with relapsed ovarian cancer. Dr. Cvitkovic has more than thirty years of international experience in oncology therapeutics, including clinical research, clinical pharmacology, the design of single-agent and combination regimens, disease-oriented therapeutic impact assessment, and optimization of clinical efficacy. Dr. Cvitkovic played a fundamental role in the registration strategy and post-registration development for cisplatin and oxaliplatin.
“We are very pleased to have Dr. Cvitkovic working in an expanded role in the development of ProLindac(TM),” stated Stephen Seiler, Access’ President and CEO. “Dr. Cvitkovic is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading developers of platinum therapeutics, and has extensive experience with DACH platinums. His active involvement in defining and implementing the development and registration strategy for ProLindac(TM) will be extremely valuable as we are preparing to initiate additional ProLindac(TM) trials in tumor types other than ovarian cancer.”
Dr. Esteban Cvitkovic has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and 600 abstracts focused on therapeutic oncology development. His international career includes staff and academic appointments at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York), Columbia Presbyterian (New York), Instituto Mario Negri (Milan), Institut Gustave Roussy (Villejuif), Hopital Paul Brousse (Villejuif) and Hopital St. Louis (Paris). Recently, the oncology-focused CRO Cvitkovic & Associes Consultants (CAC), founded by Dr. Cvitkovic 11 years ago and which he developed from a small oncology consultancy to a full-service CRO, was sold to AAIPharma to become AAIOncology. Dr. Cvitkovic is currently a Senior Medical Consultant to AAIOncology. In addition, he maintains a part-time academic practice including teaching at the hospitals Beaujon and St. Louis in Paris. Dr. Cvitkovic is Scientific President of the FNAB, a foundation devoted to the furthering of personalized cancer treatments. Together with a small number of collaborators he has recently co-founded Oncoethix, a biotech company focused on licensing and co-development of anti-cancer molecules.
About Access
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access’ products include ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase II clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients with mucositis. The Company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including Cobalamin(TM)-mediated targeted delivery and oral drug delivery. For additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our website at http://www.accesspharma.com .
This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: our plan to initiate clinical trials, the value of our products in the market, our ability to achieve clinical and commercial success, our ability to successfully develop marketed products and the ability to obtain or meet the closing conditions in the merger agreement, including the approval of Somanta Pharmaceutical, Inc. stockholders and applicable regulatory and tax requirements, and to otherwise complete the merger in a timely manner. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited our need to obtain additional financing and to the risks detailed in Access’ and Somanta’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and other reports filed by Access and Somanta with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Stephen B. Thompson, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer ofAccess Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-214-905-5100; or Investor Relations,Donald C. Weinberger, or Media, Alisa Steinberg, both of Wolfe AxelrodWeinberger LLC, +1-212-370-4500, or Andrew Hellman of CEOcast, Inc.,+1-212-732-4300, all of Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.accesspharma.com//
