Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Adds Noted Oncologist Dr. Bruce Chabner as Clinical Advisor to Support Advancement of Its Clinical Programs
-Current Clinical Director of Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School Adds Clinical Trial Design and Drug Development Expertise-
TUSTIN, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), today announced that noted cancer researcher Bruce
Chabner, M.D., will serve as a clinical advisor to the company on the design
of clinical trials for the bavituximab cancer program. Dr. Chabner is
currently the clinical director of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer
Center, chief of hematology and oncology at MGH and a professor of medicine at
Harvard Medical School. Before coming to MGH, Dr. Chabner had a distinguished
25-year career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including serving as
scientific director and director of the Division of Cancer Treatment. He has
received numerous honors and awards, including the U.S. Public Health
Service's Distinguished Service Award for his leadership in the development
and approval of paclitaxel (Taxol(R)), a mainstay of current cancer therapy.
Dr. Chabner joins a group of advisors that have been assisting Peregrine in
planning for the next stage of clinical trials for its bavituximab and
Cotara(R) cancer programs. Bavituximab is currently being evaluated in three
Phase II clinical trials in patients with advanced breast and lung cancer.
Encouraging preliminary data from ongoing bavituximab clinical trials was
presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology.
"Bavituximab's novel mechanism that enables the patient's immune system to
attack tumors more effectively combined with its natural synergy with
chemotherapy make it an intriguing and promising new approach to treating
solid tumors," said Dr. Chabner. "The early clinical data on bavituximab is
encouraging and I look forward to assisting Peregrine as they advance the
bavituximab cancer program into later-stage trials in a number of
indications."
Dr. Chabner has contributed to important advances in cancer drug research and
clinical trial design during a distinguished career that spans four decades.
Dr. Chabner is a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and is
editor-in-chief of the journal The Oncologist. He graduated with honors from
Yale College and received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School.
"The increased attention bavituximab and Cotara have been receiving from
oncology researchers is exemplified by the fact that Dr. Chabner, globally
recognized as a leading cancer researcher and key opinion leader, has chosen
to become actively involved in helping to guide our clinical programs," said
Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. "We believe Dr. Chabner's
contributions will be very valuable as we design the next set of bavituximab
clinical studies that are critical to advance the program through later-stage
clinical trials."
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a
portfolio of innovative monoclonal antibodies in clinical trials for the
treatment of cancer and serious viral infections. The company is pursuing
three separate clinical programs in cancer and hepatitis C virus infection
with its lead product candidates bavituximab and Cotara(R). Peregrine also
has in-house manufacturing capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary
Avid Bioservices, Inc. (www.avidbio.com), which provides development and
biomanufacturing services for both Peregrine and outside customers.
Additional information about Peregrine can be found at www.peregrineinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely
historical, including statements regarding Peregrine Pharmaceuticals'
intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans
or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to the
risk that the company may not have sufficient financial resources to support
the additional contemplated later-stage trials. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially or otherwise adversely impact the
company's ability to obtain regulatory approval for its product candidates
include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with completing
preclinical and clinical trials for our technologies; the early stage of
product development; the significant costs to develop our products as all of
our products are currently in development, preclinical studies or clinical
trials; obtaining additional financing to support our operations and the
development of our products; obtaining regulatory approval for our
technologies; anticipated timing of regulatory filings and the potential
success in gaining regulatory approval and complying with governmental
regulations applicable to our business. Our business could be affected by a
number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time
in the company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2009. The company cautions investors
not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in
this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. disclaims any obligation,
and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in
this press release.
Contacts:
GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners
Investors Media
[email protected] Jennifer Anderson
(800) 987-8256 (212) 918-4642