SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, today announced the formation of its Clinical Advisory Board to help guide the Company's clinical development strategy for picoplatin, its lead product candidate. The Board includes Paul J. Bunn, Jr., M.D., a lung cancer specialist at the University of Colorado Cancer Center; Richard M. Goldberg, M.D., a colorectal cancer expert at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Eric J. Small, M.D., a prostate cancer expert at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
"With the planned initiation of Phase 2 trials of picoplatin for colorectal and prostate cancers by the end of this year, and the expected initiation of our pivotal Phase 3 trial of picoplatin for small cell lung cancer and a Phase 1 trial of an oral formulation of picoplatin in 2007, we have in place an aggressive plan to develop this compound in three solid tumor indications," said Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Poniard. "I am pleased that we have attracted highly respected physicians with such strong credentials and oncology clinical trial experience to our Clinical Advisory Board to help us in our efforts to develop this promising drug."
"The three internationally recognized oncology thoughtleaders who comprise our Clinical Advisory Board have significant expertise and understand the need for new treatment options for patients in the three therapeutic areas for which we are developing picoplatin," said Alan B. Glassberg, M.D., chief medical officer of Poniard. "They will each be instrumental in helping us strategically define our clinical development strategy for picoplatin and in assisting us with the design and implementation of key clinical trials."
Poniard's Clinical Advisory Board -- Paul A. Bunn, Jr., M.D., is director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora, Colo., where he holds the James Dudley Endowed Chair of Cancer research and is professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Bunn is past president and current executive director of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). He also served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He is a past ASCO president and chairs the ASCO Foundation Board. He is the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cancer League of Colorado. Dr. Bunn previously served as chairman of the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A fellow of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Bunn is a member of ASCO, the IASLC, the American Society of Hematology, the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Federation for Clinical Research, among others. Active in the Southwest Oncology Group, Dr. Bunn serves on the Lung Cancer Committee. He also is associate editor of Lung Cancer, Physician Data Query (PDQ) and Oncology Times and serves on the editorial board of Drug Resistance Updates. His research interest includes novel therapies in non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. Dr. Bunn received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical Center in New York City. He completed his internship and residency in medicine at the University of California, H.C. Moffitt Hospital in San Francisco and his fellowship in medical oncology at the medicine branch of the National Cancer Institute. -- Richard M. Goldberg, M.D., is associate director of clinical research for the University of North Carolina's (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and physician-in-chief of the N.C. Cancer Hospital, where he leads the continued development of an integrated, comprehensive system for cancer care, translational research, multidisciplinary patient care and educational opportunities. He is also professor of medicine and chief of the division of hematology and oncology in the UNC School of Medicine's department of medicine. Before going to UNC in 2003, he was professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he chaired the Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Program. Currently, he chairs the Gastrointestinal Cancer Committee for Cancer and Leukemia Group B, a national clinical research group sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, and is president of the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology. Dr. Goldberg is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, ASCO and the American Joint Commission on Cancer's colorectal task force. He has been an invited reviewer for many leading medical and oncology journals and the editorial boards of the NCI's Physician Data Query program and the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Oncology. His principal research interest is the evaluation of new agents for the treatment of colorectal cancer. He has coauthored more than 160 publications. Dr. Goldberg earned his M.D. from the Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y. -- Eric J. Small, M.D., holds joint appointments as a professor in the Department of Urology and Department of Medicine at UCSF. He serves as program leader for the Prostate Cancer Program in the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF. In addition to co-directing the Clinical Urologic Oncology Program, he directs the Urologic Oncology Research Office, coordinating more than 30 active protocols for the treatment of urologic malignancies. Dr. Small is chair of the GenitoUrinary Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), a National Cancer Institute Cooperative Oncology Group. He is an active member of numerous professional medical societies, including the American Urological Association and ASCO. Dr. Small is an invited reviewer for many leading oncology and urology journals and has sat on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. His principal research interest is the evaluation of new agents for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. He has coauthored more than 175 publications. Dr. Small received his bachelor of science degree from Stanford University and attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, where he graduated with honors. He undertook his post- graduate residency training in internal medicine at the Beth Israel Hospital at Harvard University in Boston and completed a fellowship in hematology and oncology at the Cancer Research Institute, UCSF. About Poniard Pharmaceuticals
Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative oncology products to impact the lives of people with cancer. Picoplatin, the Company's lead product candidate, is a new generation platinum therapy with an improved safety profile. An intravenous chemotherapeutic agent, it is designed to overcome and prevent platinum resistance associated with chemotherapy in solid tumors. Picoplatin is currently being studied in clinical trials for the treatment of small cell lung, colorectal and hormone- refractory prostate cancers. As part of the Company's strategic goal of building a diverse oncology pipeline, the Company also is collaborating with the Scripps Florida Research Institute on the discovery of novel, small- molecule, multi-targeted protein kinase inhibitors. For additional information please visit www.poniard.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's business model, drug development program and clinical trial plans and preliminary results to date. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward looking statements based on a number of factors, including anticipated operating losses, uncertainties associated with research, development, clinical trials, the results of later clinical testing and related regulatory approvals, future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing, competition, uncertainties associated with intellectual property, dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers and collaborators, lack of sales and marketing experience, loss of key personnel, uncertainties associated with market acceptance, technology change and government regulation, general market conditions and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's current and periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
NOTE: Poniard and Poniard Pharmaceuticals are trademarks of Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc.CONTACT: Julie Rathbun, Corporate Communications of PoniardPharmaceuticals, +1-206-286-2517, or jrathbun@poniard.com
Web site: http://www.poniard.com//
