LIXT Stock: Lixte Biotechnology Holdings Announces New Appointment to Board of Directors
EAST SETAUKET, N.Y., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- John S. Kovach,
M.D., Chair, Board of Directors and CEO of Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.
(OTC Bulletin Board: LIXT stock), announces the appointment of Mel Sorensen, M.D. to
the company's Board of Directors.
Dr. Sorensen is currently Board Director, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Ascenta Therapeutics. He is a highly experienced leader and
administrator in cancer therapeutics and cancer drug development.
Trained as a medical oncologist, Dr. Sorensen has dedicated his career to
clinical cancer research and cancer drug development. After completing his
oncology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN in 1988, Dr. Sorensen
spent seven years at the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Cancer Therapy
Evaluation Program (CTEP). At CTEP, he managed collaborations between
companies developing new anti-cancer agents and academic clinics and clinical
cooperative groups. He had responsibility for over 40 research compounds.
Following NCI, Dr. Sorensen spent nearly eight years at large
pharmaceutical companies in leadership roles in oncology clinical development
and medical affairs. He established Bayer's first clinical oncology department
and oversaw multiple clinical trials (Phase 1, 2 and 3) of novel agents. He
subsequently joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as Vice-President, Global Leader and
North American Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for Oncology,
where he recruited a large team of physicians and scientists and led global
clinical development of chemotherapeutic agents. While at GSK and Bayer, he
was very active in business development, facilitating several in-licensing
agreements and joint collaborations (including Onyx, SB, Corixa, Nippon
Kayaku, and Hoffmann-La Roche).
Dr. Sorensen joined Ascenta Therapeutics in August 2004. Under his
leadership, in less than three years Ascenta was transformed from a 5-person
start-up with a single preclinical program into a clinical-stage company with
over 65 full time employees and facilities in the US and China and development
programs against three distinct targets. Ascenta has raised $82 million in two
rounds of financing, opened offices in San Diego and in the greater
Philadelphia area, and established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sorensen has been also been active in fostering
public-private collaborations for clinical cancer research including the
National Cancer Institute, C-Change, Friends of Cancer Research and other
organizations. He is a frequent speaker and panel participant on optimizing
cancer R&D, including presentations at the Woodrow Wilson Center in
Washington, DC, the 2004 Bioethical Symposium in Tampa, FL, the 2005 Tokyo
Pharma Partnering Conference &, the 2005 Shanghai Bio-Forum conference, the
2005 Milken Institute Global Conference ('Biopharmaceuticals: The Innovation
Pipeline Race'), BIO 2006 ('Early-Stage Business Models in Cancer'), the 2007
R&D Leaders' Forum ('Biotech R&D Across Borders: The Ascenta Experience')
Philadelphia, PA, and the 2007 China R&D Summit ('Making Innovative Medicines
Faster and Cost-Efficiently'), Shanghai, CN.
'We are extremely pleased that Dr. Sorensen has joined the Lixte
Biotechnology board of directors. Mel is internationally recognized for his
expertise in clinical oncology and in meeting the challenges of cancer drug
development. In addition to his depth of knowledge and experience in applied
cancer research, he has demonstrated remarkable administrative skills in
bringing together the expertise of the diverse groups needed for the effective
and safe development of important new anti-cancer drugs. We very much look
forward to working with him,' stated Dr. Kovach.
About Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.:
Lixte is a biotechnology company engaged in development of improved
treatments for cancer and improved methods for detecting cancer. As such,
Lixte is both a cancer therapeutics company and a cancer diagnostics company.
Lixte was created to capitalize on opportunities to develop low cost, specific
and sensitive tests for the early detection of cancers. Over the past two
years, however, the Company has evolved into what is now primarily a cancer
drug discovery company, using biomarker technology to develop new potentially
more effective anti-cancer drugs.
The Company is developing new treatments for several cancers for which
better treatments are urgently needed. The primary focus is on the most common
and most aggressive type of brain cancer of adults, glioblastoma multiforme
('GBM'). The research on brain tumors is being conducted with the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ('NINDS') of the National
Institutes of Health ('NIH') under a Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement ('CRADA').
The Company has expanded the scope of its program to other cancers of
neural tissue (nerve and brain), including medulloblastoma, the most common
brain tumor of children, and neuroblastoma, the most common cancer of
children, and to other common cancers of adults. The program was expanded
because each of two distinct types of drugs being developed by Lixte inhibits
the growth of cell lines of GBM, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, and
pancreatic cancer in animal models of these diseases and is also active
against breast, colon, lung, prostate, ovary, stomach and liver cancer and the
major types of leukemias in cell culture.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements regarding the
Company's financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives
for future operations, and assumptions and predictions about future product
demand, supply, manufacturing, costs, marketing and pricing factors are all
forward-looking statements. These statements are generally accompanied by
words such as 'intend,' anticipate,' 'believe,' 'estimate,' 'potential(ly),'
'continue,' 'forecast,' 'predict,' 'plan,' 'may,' 'will,' 'could,' 'would,'
'should,' 'expect' or the negative of such terms or other comparable
terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, based on
information available to it on the date hereof, but the Company cannot provide
assurances that these assumptions and expectations will prove to have been
correct or that the Company will take any action that the Company may
presently be planning. However, these forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual
results or experience may differ materially from those expected or anticipated
in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to
such differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory policies,
available cash, research results, competition from other similar businesses,
and market and general economic factors. This discussion should be read in
conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes
thereto included in Item 1 of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the
quarter ending June 30, 2007.
For additional information, please see: www.Lixte.com
