Vancouver, British Columbia – February 25, 2015 – Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM / FSE: ZSB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Martin Gleave to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Gleave holds numerous leadership positions in research and academia. He is currently distinguished Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Urologic Sciences at UBC, and Director at the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC). The VPC has a track record of success that has earned it a reputation as one of the world's most respected cancer facilities. It is a National Centre of Excellence and a designated Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research.
"Dr. Gleave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Company," said Dr. Howard Verrico, Chief Executive Officer of Sirona Biochem. "His executive research positions and extensive network connections will provide vast collaborative opportunities for advancing our glycoprotein program. His success in bringing OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals from startup to closing multi-million dollar deals with big pharma will greatly enhance our expertise in this area."
"I am excited to join the board at Sirona, as my research has focused on understanding the role of the stress response and cell survival in anti-cancer treatment resistance and graft survival in transplantation," said Dr. Gleave. "I am very interested in applications of Sirona's novel glycoproteins and helping advance their roles in protein stabilization across many applications."
Dr. Gleave has been granted incentive stock options, under the Company's stock option plan, for the purchase of up to 500,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.15 per share for a period of five years.
The Company has also granted under its stock option plan, stock options to Attila Hajdu, the Company's recently appointed Chief Business Development Officer, for the purchase of up to 1,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.15 per share for a period of five years.
About Dr. Martin Gleave
Dr. Gleave is a clinician-scientist and urologic surgeon. His major research focus involves the study of cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating progression of prostate cancer to its lethal stage of androgen independence, and use of this information to develop integrated multimodality therapies that specifically target these mechanisms. Dr. Gleave established a role for clusterin as a cancer-related cell survival protein involved in treatment resistance and developed an inhibitor, designated OGX-011, which improved efficacy of hormone- and chemo-therapies in prostate and other cancer models. He is the scientific founder of OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
About Sirona Biochem
Sirona Biochem is a cosmetic ingredient and drug discovery company with a proprietary technology platform developed at its laboratory facility in France. The company specializes in the stabilization of carbohydrate molecules, with the goal of improving compounds' efficacy and safety. Sirona Biochem's compounds are patented as new chemical entities for maximum commercial protection and revenue potential. Newly developed compounds are licensed to leading companies around the world in return for licensing and milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. TFChem, Sirona Biochem's wholly-owned French laboratory is a recipient of multiple French national scientific awards and a European Union and French government grant. For more information visit www.sironabiochem.com.