NEW YORK, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Antigenics Inc. announced that Bruce A. Leicher has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president and general counsel. In this role, Mr. Leicher will be responsible for directing the overall legal activities of the company, reporting directly to the chairman and CEO.
“We are very pleased to have Bruce join our senior management team,” said Garo H. Armen, PhD, chairman and CEO of Antigenics. “His comprehensive legal expertise in pharmaceutical development and commercialization, along with his experience in partnering and corporate transactions, will be very valuable and timely as Antigenics progresses from a late-stage development company to a commercial entity.”
Mr. Leicher was most recently vice president, chief pharmaceutical counsel and compliance officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. While at Millennium, he was a leader in the creation of the commercial infrastructure to launch Velcade(R) (bortezomib) -- the first proteasome inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration -- as a treatment for multiple myeloma.
With 25 years of legal experience, Mr. Leicher has developed a specific expertise in implementing systems that facilitate accelerated product development and compliance with US and international regulatory requirements. He has also built and managed legal teams; trained clinical and R&D operations professionals to handle high-volume research and clinical contracts; participated in portfolio and strategic planning; and managed significant product partnering and acquisition transactions. Mr. Leicher received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rochester in New York, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
About Antigenics
Antigenics is working to develop patient-specific immunotherapeutics and revolutionary treatments for cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. The company’s lead product candidate is Oncophage(R) (vitespen; formerly HSPPC-96), a late-stage, patient-specific cancer vaccine being evaluated in several indications, including renal cell carcinoma and metastatic melanoma. Antigenics’ portfolio of investigational products also includes AG-858 (HSPPC-70), a patient-specific cancer vaccine in Phase 2 development; two liposomal cancer treatments, Aroplatin(TM) and ATRA-IV; and AG-707, a Phase 1 genital herpes vaccine. For more information, please visit http://www.antigenics.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the benefits of Mr. Leicher joining Antigenics, and the progression of Antigenics from a late-stage development company into a commercial entity. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among others, that clinical trails fail to demonstrate, in a statistically significant manner, that Oncophage and other product candidates are as safe and more effective than alternative treatments; that Antigenics fails to obtain marketing approval from the FDA or fails to do so without extended delays; decisions by regulatory agencies, including the FDA, regarding interpretation of clinical trial data and demands for additional clinical trials; and the factors described under Factors That May Impact Future Results in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of Antigenics’ Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2005. Antigenics cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only as of the date of this document, and Antigenics undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Antigenics’ business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those identified above. When evaluating Antigenics’ business and securities, investors should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties. The prior track record of Mr. Leicher does not assure Antigenics’ future success.
Antigenics Inc.
CONTACT: Sunny Uberoi, Corporate Communications, +1-212-994-8206,suberoi@antigenics.com, or Shalini Sharp, Investor Relations,1-800-962-2436, ir@antigenics.com, both of Antigenics Inc.
Web site: http://www.antigenics.com/