NPRO Napro Biotherapeutics (MM)

NaPro Announces Formation of Oncology Scientific Advisory Board BOULDER, Colo., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc. today announced the formation of an Oncology Scientific Advisory Board to advise the company on the clinical development of its proprietary new drug candidates for the treatment of cancer. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., M.D., a member of the Company's Scientific Advisory Board, will serve as the Chair of the Oncology Scientific Advisory Board. "Our development team at NaPro is looking forward to working closely with Dr. Bunn and the other members of our new Oncology Advisory Board as we advance our new product candidates into the clinic. We welcome their close scrutiny and counsel," commented Leonard P. Shaykin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NaPro. Brief backgrounds of the members of the Oncology Advisory Board are given below: Paul A. Bunn, Jr., M.D. (Chairman): Dr. Bunn is the Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, previous president (2002-2003) of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and former chairman of the Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) of the FDA. Dr. Bunn is an authority in the field of clinical oncology with a research specialty in lung cancer. Dr. Bunn received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. S. Gail Eckhardt, M.D.: Dr. Eckhardt is a Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Developmental Therapeutics and GI Malignancies Programs at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver. She is a member of the ASCO Board of Directors and ASCO Publications Committee. She previously worked as an Associate Director of Clinical Research, Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the Institute for Drug Development in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Eckhardt received her M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D.: Dr. Rowinsky is the Director of the Institute for Drug Development, Cancer Therapy and Research Center and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Investigational New Drugs and as an Associate Editor for various publications, including Cancer Research. Dr. Rowinsky also serves on the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors. He is actively involved in preclinical and clinical research in anticancer drug development and has played pivotal roles in the regulatory approval of a large number of contemporary anticancer therapeutics such as Taxotere(R). Dr. Rowinsky received his M.D. from the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D.: Dr. Von Hoff is Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Director of the Arizona Health Sciences Center's Cancer Therapeutics Program. He is, also, Director of Translational Research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). He is Chief Scientific Officer for US Oncology, Inc. and a founder and board member of ILEX Oncology, Inc. Dr. Von Hoff has been involved in the initial development of many anticancer agents, including paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine and CPT-11. He is currently concentrating on the development of molecularly targeted therapies. Dr. Von Hoff received his M.D. from Columbia University. About NaPro BioTherapeutics NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for the treatment of cancer and hereditary disease. For more information about NaPro and its technologies, visit NaPro's web site at http://www.naprobio.com/. Forward Looking Statements The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that represent management's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of the press release, based on currently available information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "intends," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates," "expected" or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, and include statements regarding the Company's advancing new product candidates into the clinic and the nature of scrutiny and counsel by the Oncology Advisory Board. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure that these expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties including those factors identified under the captions "Risk Factors," "Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" or "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the SEC, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2003 filed with the SEC on March 11, 2004. Should one or more of these risks materialize (or the consequences of such a development worsen), or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those forecasted or expected. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact L. Robert Cohen, Vice President, Investor Relations of NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc., +1-212-218-8715. DATASOURCE: NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc. CONTACT: L. Robert Cohen, Vice President, Investor Relations of NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc., +1-212-218-8715; or investors, Lilian Stern of Stern Investor Relations, Inc., +1-212-362-1200, or media, Peter Steinerman, +1-516-374-3031, both for NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc. Web site: http://www.naprobio.com/

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