FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abgenix, Inc. announced today the appointment of Jeffrey H. Knapp to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In this position, Mr. Knapp will report directly to Bill Ringo, chief executive officer and president of Abgenix, and will be responsible for building and leading Abgenix’s commercial capabilities.
Mr. Knapp is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry executive with more than 15 years of commercial experience in therapeutic oncology, including the promotion of targeted and cytotoxic therapeutic products. He has led national oncology sales and marketing organizations, and prepared multiple products for launch in the U.S. marketplace. For the majority of his executive career, Mr. Knapp held several positions of increasing responsibility at Eli Lilly, including Global Marketing Director for the company’s oncology franchise. He served most recently as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Pharmion Corporation. Previously he was Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing at EMD Pharmaceuticals, the U.S. affiliate of Merck KGaA. Mr. Knapp holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Wittenberg University.
“Jeff possesses a strong background in therapeutic oncology and commercial operations, and we are delighted to have him join our organization,” said Mr. Ringo. “Together, we will work closely on laying a firm foundation for our future sales organization, and, in coordination with our partner, Amgen, we will begin planning for the potential co-promotion of panitumumab in the U.S.”
“Our biological license application for panitumumab will be based primarily on the positive results of our pivotal study announced last week, and we continue to work closely with Amgen toward initiating the submission in 2005 and completing it in the first quarter of 2006,” Mr. Ringo concluded.
About Abgenix
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and manufacturing of fully human therapeutic antibodies. The company’s antibody development platform includes a leading antibody technology and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that enable the rapid generation, selection and production of high affinity antibodies with the potential to target disease. Abgenix leverages its leadership position in human antibody technology to build a diversified product portfolio through its own development efforts and the establishment of collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information on Abgenix, visit the company’s website at www.abgenix.com.
Statements made in this press release about Abgenix’s technologies, product development activities, clinical study results, timing of potential FDA filings for and commercialization of panitumumab, and collaborative and co-promotion arrangements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including risks associated with conducting clinical trials, the progress of research and product development programs, product manufacturing, regulatory filing, review and approval processes, competitive products and services, future capital requirements and the extent and breadth of Abgenix’s patent portfolio. Please see Abgenix’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information about risks that may affect Abgenix, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Abgenix is providing this information as of the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Abgenix, Inc.
CONTACT: Greg Mann, Director, Corporate Communications & InvestorRelations of Abgenix, Inc., +1-510-284-6656
Web site: http://www.abgenix.com/
