HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated announced today that Robert G. Johnson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Kosan’s President and CEO, will present at the BIO Investor Forum in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed through http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/confLobby.zhtml?ticker=KOSN&item_id=1657663.
Interested parties may also access a live webcast of the presentation by visiting the “Events Calendar” page under the “Investors/Press” tab on Kosan’s website at http://www.kosan.com. A recorded replay of the presentation will be available for two weeks.
About Kosan
Kosan Biosciences is a biotechnology company advancing two new classes of anticancer agents through clinical development -- Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) inhibitors and epothilones. Kosan is leveraging its proprietary discovery platform to generate a pipeline of potentially significant product candidates, primarily in the area of oncology.
Hsp90 inhibitors have a novel mechanism of action targeting multiple pathways involved in cancer cell growth and survival. Tanespimycin (KOS-953) is being tested in combination with bortezomib (Velcade(R)) in patients with multiple myeloma in a registration program called TIME. Tanespimycin is also being studied in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin(R)), and as monotherapy in metastatic melanoma. Intravenous and oral formulations of Kosan’s second-generation Hsp90 inhibitor, alvespimycin (KOS-1022), are being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials in hematological cancers and in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.
Epothilones inhibit cell division with a mechanism of action similar to taxanes, one of the most successful classes of anti-tumor agents. KOS-1584 is in Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with solid tumors. Kosan’s epothilone program is partnered with Roche through a global development and commercialization agreement.
Kosan’s motilin agonist compound, KOS-2187, licensed to Pfizer, is in a Phase 1 trial in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
For additional information on Kosan Biosciences, please visit the company’s website at http://www.kosan.com.
Herceptin(R) (trastuzumab) is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc. Velcade(R) (bortezomib) is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Jane M. Green, VP, Corporate Communications of Kosan Biosciences
Incorporated, +1-510-731-5335, cell, +1-415-652-4819, green@kosan.com
Web site: http://www.kosan.com/