Press Release Source: Conforma Therapeutics Corporation
Conforma Therapeutics Names Thomas M. Estok as Chief Commercial Officer
Tuesday November 29, 9:45 am ET
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2005--Conforma Therapeutics Corporation today announced the appointment of Thomas M. Estok to the newly created position of chief commercial officer.
Mr. Estok has nearly 20 years of experience in the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals and joins Conforma from Schering-Plough where he was most recently vice president, US Marketing and Commercial Development within the oncology franchise. Having joined Schering-Plough in 1986 as a biochemist, Mr. Estok has held various positions with increasing responsibility in R&D, and in both international and domestic marketing, sales, and commercial development with a focus in oncology.
"Tom brings an exceptional commercial background to Conforma's management team," said Lawrence C. Fritz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Conforma. "We expect that he will have an immediate impact on the strategic development of our products and that he will ultimately lead the creation of our commercial capability. We are pleased to have such an experienced and successful commercial officer at this stage of our development."
During his tenure at Schering-Plough, Mr. Estok led the oncology marketing efforts on multiple products including temozolomide, liposomal doxorubicin, and alpha-interferon. He played a major role in driving the Schering-Plough oncology franchise to achieve nearly $1 billion in 2004 sales. As chief commercial officer at Conforma, he will provide commercial direction to the company's clinical and preclinical R&D programs, identify new product opportunities, and at the appropriate time, create Conforma's marketing and sales team.
Mr. Estok holds a BS degree in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
About Conforma Therapeutics
Conforma Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, is focused on the design and development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer. Conforma's internal discovery efforts have been focused on drugs that target the cellular HSP90 family of molecular "chaperones" that control protein shape or conformation, including that of key signaling molecules involved in the growth and survival of tumor cells. HSP90-directed drugs selectively induce the degradation of these cancer-promoting proteins, leading to tumor cell death. Conforma is conducting Phase I clinical trials with its lead HSP90 product, CNF1010, for the treatment of cancer and has recently initiated Phase I clinical testing of its second, orally administered HSP90 product, CNF2024. Conforma's third product candidate, Calsed(TM) (CNF3140), is a third generation anthracycline and the world's first purely synthetic anthracycline anticancer drug. Already marketed in Japan by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Conforma plans to initiate phase II testing of Calsed(TM) in small cell lung cancer in the US and Europe in the first quarter of 2006. Further information regarding Conforma Therapeutics is available at www.conformacorp.com. |
