I gather there was some language in the 10-Q to the effect that recent discussions with the FDA for the XYOTAX NDA were not going well. There's no harm in pursuing it, I suppose, versus dropping the drug immediately. But it would seem to put the focus more on Pixantrone, so it seems a little ominous to me that the Novuspharma board members, among ohters, are splitting. Link's departure even more ominous? It'll be interesting to see who they replace 'em with, and when. Whatever, good Pix results mandatory to salvage this sucker, that's for sure . . .
>>SEATTLE, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq and Nuovo Mercato: CTIC) today announced the resignation of four board members -- Silvano Spinelli, executive vice president of development and managing director of European operations for CTI, Erich Platzer, M.D., former chair of Novuspharma, John Fluke, Jr., chair of Fluke Capital Management, LP, a venture capital company, and Max Link, Ph.D., board chair. All resignations are effective immediately, except for Link who will leave at the end of September.
Also announced is the promotion of two vice presidents to executive vice president and to the senior management team. Jade Brown, MBA, was promoted to executive vice president and chief business officer, and Scott Stromatt, M.D., was promoted to executive vice president, clinical development and regulatory affairs. Brown, 37, joined the company in 2004 and Stromatt, 48, in 2002.
The announcements came following a meeting of the CTI board of directors in New York on Friday, August 19, 2005.
"CTI is a different company today than when Novuspharma was acquired and does not need the degree of infrastructure and resources the merger provided," said James A. Bianco, M.D., President and CEO of CTI. "Our focus is getting a new drug application (NDA) for XYOTAX filed and completing an interim analysis on the pixantrone pivotal study. The Company also needs to maintain adequate operating capital to see us through these major milestones. Bringing Jade and Scott onto the senior management team is a sign of our commitment to advance the development and potential commercialization of these late stage products. I look forward to working with the board to bring additional talent to our board of directors."
"The resigning board members felt there was a need for a change in the leadership of the company," said Phillip M. Nudelman, Ph.D., chair of the board's Nominating and Governance Committee. "The other members of the board, however, demonstrated their commitment to the current CEO and the strategic direction the company's management team is pursuing. We thank the departing board members for their service to the company. The Nominating and Governance Committee has several new candidates it is actively considering for nomination to the board."
Spinelli became part of CTI's board as a result of the 2004 merger with Novuspharma. He was a co-founder of Novuspharma and served as its CEO from January 1999 through December 2003. Platzer also joined CTI's board as a result of the Novuspharma merger. He had served as Novuspharma's chair. Fluke joined the board in November 2003. Link joined the board in July 1995 as vice chairman and has served as chairman since January 1996.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
