SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exelixis, Inc. today announced that Richard E. Buller, MD, PhD, has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president, translational medicine. In this position, Dr. Buller will play a lead role in building a new team of translational medicine scientists who will operate at the interface of research and development. This appointment is a key step in the expansion of the company’s translational research efforts, and signals a strong commitment to a rational, biology-based approach to its clinical development strategy.
Most recently, Dr. Buller held the position of Director, Oncology Medicine Development Centre, Clinical Development, at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), playing an integral role in developing and implementing clinical strategies around the company’s portfolio of oncology drug candidates. In this role, he served on the steering committee for the GSK-Exelixis oncology collaboration. Previously, Dr. Buller was Professor, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pharmacology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Dr. Buller also served for 11 years as Co-Principal Investigator, Gynecologic Oncology Group at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He received his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Baylor College of Medicine, completed his residency in the Department of OB/GYN & Reproductive Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of California, Irvine.
“Exelixis is committed to advancing a strong translational approach to drug development, and the appointment of Rich Buller to head the translational medicine team is a key step in that strategy,” said Michael Morrissey, PhD, president of research and development at Exelixis. “We’ve built a strong relationship with Rich in our collaboration with GSK and look forward to his increased participation in all phases of our oncology R&D activities. His in- depth knowledge of the pharmacology of our compounds and the biology of specific tumor types will greatly aid our ability to develop clinical strategies that provide a clear and potentially rapid path to commercialization. With hands-on experience in clinical oncology, pharmacology, and cancer drug development, Rich has the expertise to lead the translational medicine team to success.”
“I believe that Exelixis’ approach to drug development will enable important medicines to reach patients more quickly than can be achieved with current paradigms,” said Dr. Buller. “Integrating a growing body of molecular and clinical oncology data is essential to identifying and developing therapies that address true unmet medical needs. I’m very excited to be part of an organization that is putting this philosophy into action. With 12 promising compounds in clinical development, Exelixis has enormous potential to transform the treatment of cancer.”
About Exelixis
Exelixis, Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. The company is leveraging its fully integrated drug discovery platform to fuel the growth of its development pipeline, which is primarily focused on cancer. Currently, Exelixis’ broad product pipeline includes investigational compounds in Phase II and Phase I clinical development for cancer and renal disease. Exelixis has established strategic corporate alliances with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Genentech, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Sankyo. For more information, please visit the company’s web site at www.exelixis.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including without limitation all statements related to Exelixis’ approach to drug development and the therapeutic and commercial value of the Exelixis compounds in clinical development. Words such as “believes,” “signals,” “committed,” “advancing,” “promising,” “potential,” “developing,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “suggests,” “goal” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Exelixis’ current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Exelixis’ actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the potential failure of product candidates to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical testing; the ability to initiate and complete trials at the referenced times; the ability to conduct clinical trials sufficient to achieve a positive completion; the uncertainty of the FDA approval process; and the therapeutic and commercial value of the company’s compounds. These and other risk factors are discussed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Exelixis’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2006 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exelixis expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.
Exelixis, Inc.
CONTACT: investors, Charles Butler, Director, Corporate Communications,+1-650-837-7277, or cbutler@exelixis.com, or media, Soleil MaxwellHarrison, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, +1-650-837-7012, orsharrison@exelixis.com, both of Exelixis, Inc.
Web site: http://www.exelixis.com//
