CASI Pharmaceuticals Appoints Rong Chen, MD, Ph.D. As Chief Medical Officer

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASI), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics addressing cancer and other unmet medical needs for the global market with a commercial focus on China, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rong Chen MD, Ph.D. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Chen brings to CASI over 20 years of experience in the areas of pharmaceutical clinical development and regulatory affairs. He will report to Dr. Ken K. Ren, Ph.D., CASI’s Chief Executive Officer.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Chen joins CASI as Chief Medical Officer adding his invaluable medical and regulatory experience and expertise to our growing management team,” commented Ken K. Ren, Ph.D., CASI’s Chief Executive Officer. “Dr. Chen brings a strong and successful track record in new drug development and pipeline enrichment in a variety of different therapeutic areas particularly in oncology. He will lead our clinical and regulatory activities in both North America and greater China and will contribute to the expansion of our product pipeline through our dual development strategy of acquisition and internal development.”

Prior to joining CASI, Dr. Chen was Area Medical Director and Chief Medical Governance Officer at GSK China/Hong Kong Area and in 2010 was promoted to VP, Head of Regulatory Center of Excellence, Company Representative having overall responsibility for the registration of drug and vaccine products. Prior to GSK, Dr. Chen was Medical Director, Global Medical Expert at Bayer-Schering Pharma Asia Pacific Area and from 2001-2005 was Medical Director at Sanofi China. Dr. Chen was co-author of various published articles and has presented at many international conferences. Dr. Chen received his medical degree from Shandong Medical University, China and received his Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, University of Adelaide, Australia in 1989.

Dr. Chen stated, “I am very excited to be part of the company’s team to advance the research and clinical development of its growing pipeline of drugs for cancer and other unmet medical needs. I look forward to leading the effort to successfully develop them and to bring them to patients. This is a very exciting time to join the CASI family and I look forward to working with the team to achieve the many milestones to come.”

About CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CASI is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics addressing cancer and other unmet medical needs for the global market with a commercial focus on China. CASI’s product pipeline includes exclusive rights to ZEVALIN® (ibritumomab tiuxetan), MARQIBO® (vinCRIStine sulfate LIPOSOME injection) and Captisol-Enabled^TM (propylene glycol-free) melphalan (CE melphalan) for greater China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau). CASI’s development pipeline also includes its proprietary drug candidate ENMD-2076, a selective angiogenic kinase inhibitor currently in multiple Phase 2 oncology studies, and 2ME2 (2-methoxyestradial) currently under reformulation development. CASI is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland and has a wholly owned subsidiary and R&D operations in Beijing, China. More information on CASI is available at www.casipharmaceuticals.com and in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to the outlook for expectations for future financial or business performance, strategies, expectations and goals. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and no duty to update forward-looking statements is assumed. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including: the risk that we may be unable to continue as a going concern as a result of our inability to raise sufficient capital for our operational needs; the possibility that we may be delisted from trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market; the volatility in the market price of our common stock; the difficulty of executing our business strategy in China; our inability to enter into strategic partnerships for the development, commercialization, manufacturing and distribution of our proposed product candidate or future candidates; risks relating to the need for additional capital and the uncertainty of securing additional funding on favorable terms; risks associated with our product candidates; risks associated with any early-stage products under development; the risk that results in preclinical models are not necessarily indicative of clinical results; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical trials, including delays to the commencement of such trials; the lack of success in the clinical development of any of our products; dependence on third parties; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of our proposed products (such as marketing, safety, regulatory, patent, product liability, supply, competition and other risks); risks relating to interests of our largest stockholders that differ from our other stockholders; and the risk of substantial dilution of existing stockholders in future stock issuances. Such factors, among others, could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations and financial condition. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which only speak as of the date made. Additional information about the factors and risks that could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, are contained in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov.

ZEVALIN® and MARQIBO® are registered trademarks of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its affiliates. Captisol-Enabled is the trademark property of its owner.

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SOURCE CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.