SEATTLE, June 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) held a Special Meeting in lieu of the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Thursday, June 19, 2008 at its headquarters in Seattle. At the meeting, shareholders approved all matters with more than 95 percent of votes cast at the meeting voting in favor of each of the items proposed in the Company’s Proxy Statement, including the reelection of directors Frederick Telling, M.D. Vartan Gregorian, Ph.D., and James Bianco, M.D. and the ratification of the appointment of Richard Love to the Company’s Board of Directors.
Also approved at the meeting were a proposal to increase the number of shares of authorized stock (including an increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock), the reduction of quorum for future shareholder meetings to one-third of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, a proposal to allow the Board of Directors to implement a reverse stock split if and when the Board deems such action appropriate, a proposal to increase the number of shares available for grant under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and the ratification of our independent auditors.
During a management presentation, James Bianco, M.D., President and CEO of CTI, also reviewed recent accomplishments of CTI as well as the Company’s strategy and potential future milestones that may be achieved over the next year.
Potential Future Milestones:
-- Submission of a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CTI’s commercial product, Zevalin(R) (Ibritumomab Tiuxetan), seeking expansion of the label to include use in consolidation therapy for indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients if data obtained by the Company from Bayer Schering’s FIT trial prove appropriate for such an application
-- Pending phase III clinical trial results from our ongoing pixantrone trial (BBR 2778), possible submission of a new drug application (NDA) for pixantrone to treat aggressive NHL
-- Expected completion of review of the OPAXIO(TM) (paclitaxel poliglumex, CT-2103) Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for use in treating non-small cell lung cancer
“We appreciate the support of our shareholders in approving all items as it is important both from an operational and a strategic perspective as we work to build Cell Therapeutics into a successful commercial organization whose drugs make a profound impact on the daily lives of those with cancer,” said James A. Bianco, M.D., President and CEO of CTI. “We believe that the next two years will be transformative for Cell Therapeutics as we have the potential to have multiple approved products in the oncology field. We look forward to updating investors with the progress that we are making on these key milestones.”
Additional Information about the Board of Directors
Of the members of CTI’s Board of Directors who were reelected or whose appointment was ratified at the shareholder meeting, Drs. Telling and Gregorian and Mr. Love are all independent directors whereas Dr. Bianco is not an independent director due to his position at the Company. Additionally, Dr. Gregorian is a member of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee; Dr. Telling is a member of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Compensation Committee; and Mr. Love is a member of the Compensation Committee. A detailed biography of each member of the Board of Directors can be located at http://www.CellTherapeutics.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, the outcome of which could materially and/or adversely affect actual future results. Specifically, the risks and uncertainties include statements about future sales of Zevalin and the development of OPAXIO and pixantrone which include risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and with OPAXIO and pixantrone in particular, including, without limitation, the potential failure of these product candidates to prove safe and effective for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and sarcoma, determinations by regulatory, patent and administrative governmental authorities including but not limited to decisions regarding the review and approval of applications submitted to the FDA or the EMEA, competitive factors, technological developments, costs of developing, producing and selling Zevalin, OPAXIO and pixantrone, the outcome of clinical trial results for ongoing trials of our drugs, including pixantrone, and the risk factors listed or described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company’s most recent filings on Forms 10-K, 8-K, and 10-Q. Except as may be required by law, CTI does not intend to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
CONTACT: Media, Dan Eramian, +1-206-272-4343, Cell, +1-206-854-1200, or
Lindsey Jesch, +1-206-272-4347, media@ctiseattle.com, or Investors, Ed
Bell, +1-206-272-4345, , invest@ctiseattle.com, all of Cell Therapeutics,
Inc., Fax, +1-206-272-4434
Web site: http://www.celltherapeutics.com//
