MethylGene Announces Changes to Senior Managemen; CEO Resigns
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - September 13, 2010) - MethylGene Inc. ("MethylGene" or the "Company") (TSX: MYG) announced today that Mr. Donald F. Corcoran has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer and as director of the Company, effective September 13, 2010. Mr. Corcoran will be available to consult with MethylGene for an interim period in order to provide support to the Company in its endeavours to seek and evaluate funding, partnerships, collaborations, strategic relationships and other alternatives, as well as monetize assets to enhance clinical outcomes for the Company's development stage compounds. Mr. Corcoran joined MethylGene in 1997.
Mr. Charles Grubsztajn has been appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Grubsztajn has been with MethylGene since 2005, most recently in the position of Vice President, Business Development, where he has had leading roles in establishing MethylGene's collaborations, notably with Pharmion Corporation and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Mr. Grubsztajn holds MBA and law degrees from McGill University.
Dr. Martin Godbout, Chairman of the Board of MethylGene, stated: "Don has led MethylGene for the past 13 years and has overseen the transformation of MethylGene from a private company into a publicly-listed entity in 2004. He has been instrumental in raising US$83 million from the investing community and over US$160 million in additional funding and support from collaborators, government agencies and strategic partner investments. The eight partnership deals established by MethylGene were valued at over $550 million and substantially supported a number of the five compounds from the Company's research which entered or are in a position to enter Phase II human clinical trials. The Company is greatly indebted to Don for his dedication and effort. On behalf of the Board, I wish him every success in his future endeavours."
Mr. Corcoran stated: "I have been proud to lead MethylGene for over a decade. We have attracted both significant investment capital and numerous strategic partners during this period. I am particularly pleased that we, as a team, were able to discover five different compounds in three therapeutic classes that we and/or our partners entered into human clinical trials. I will miss my colleagues, both long and short-term, and wish the Company, the Board and the current and past employees of the Company the best of luck."
"Under Don's leadership, we have worked hard to build the pipeline and establish significant partnerships," said Charles Grubsztajn. "We intend to move forward in an effective and thoughtful way to bring our novel therapies to patients."
About MethylGene
MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) is a publicly-traded, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics with a focus on cancer. The Company's product candidates include: MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor targeting the Met, VEGF, Ron and Tie-2 receptor tyrosine kinases that is in multiple clinical trials for cancer; MGCD290, a fungal Hos2 inhibitor for use in combination with fluconazole for serious fungal infections which has completed Phase I clinical studies; and mocetinostat (MGCD0103), an oral, isoform-selective HDAC inhibitor for cancer which has been in multiple Phase II clinical trials and is currently in a Phase II trial in refractory or relapsed follicular lymphoma. Mocetinostat is licensed to Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd in certain Asian countries. A fourth compound discovered using MethylGene's HDAC platform, EVP-0334 - a potential cognition enhancing agent for neurodegenerative diseases has successfully completed Phase I trials sponsored by EnVivo Pharmaceuticals Inc. MethylGene also has a funded collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for applications in ocular diseases using the Company's proprietary kinase inhibitor chemistry. Please visit our website at www.methylgene.com.
Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management of MethylGene, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond MethylGene's control. These risks and uncertainties could cause future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such results, performance or achievements include, but are not limited to, the timing and effects of regulatory action; the continuation of collaborations; the results of clinical trials; the timing of enrollment or completion of clinical trials; the success, efficacy or safety of MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat (MGCD0103); the ability to scale up, formulate and manufacture sufficient GMP, clinical or commercialization quantities of MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat, and the relative success or the lack of success in developing and gaining regulatory approval and/or market acceptance for any compound or new product including MGCD265, MGCD290 or mocetinostat. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, economic conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which MethylGene does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, expectations with respect to our intellectual property position and our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others, changes in the competitive landscape including changes in the standard of care for the various indications in which MethylGene is involved, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, as well as other risks, as described in MethylGene's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, under the heading "Risk Factors" which you are urged to read and all other documents filed by the Company that can be found at www.sedar.com. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this presentation. These statements speak only as an update on the date they are made and MethylGene is under no obligation to revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstance or otherwise except in accordance with law.
Contacts:
Rx Communications Group, LLC
Rhonda Chiger
917-322-2569
[email protected]
MethylGene Inc.
Charles Grubsztajn
President and CEO
514-337-3333 ext. 373
[email protected]