Avalon Pharmaceuticals Appoints J. Michael Hamilton, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
August 01 2006 - 7:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
GERMANTOWN, Md., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avalon
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq and NYSE Arca: AVRX), a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of small molecule therapeutics, today announced the appointment of
J. Michael Hamilton, M.D., to the newly created position of Chief
Medical Officer effective August 1, 2006. He will report to Kenneth
C. Carter, Ph.D., President and CEO of Avalon Pharmaceuticals. "The
addition of Dr. Hamilton is perfectly timed because our first lead
drug candidate, AVN944, is currently in a complex clinical trial
that includes patients with several kinds of hematological cancers
including acute leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma," said Dr. Carter.
"Michael's wealth of experience in the management, design and
execution of drug trials will help with both the AVN944 clinical
program and our plans to move our other drug candidates into the
clinic." As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hamilton will develop
clinical strategies and priorities, and also oversee implementation
of Phase I-III clinical trials. He will also be responsible for
regulatory affairs and interaction with the FDA. As a key member of
senior management, Dr. Hamilton will also participate in defining
strategic direction and program development for the Company. Dr.
Hamilton brings to Avalon 20 years of expertise in the field of
oncology. Most recently, from 2000-2005, he served as Group
Director of Oncology, MDC and led a portfolio of U.S. clinical
trials for oncology for GlaxoSmithKline. He coordinated the
oncology group's clinical activities from drug discovery and
development through clinical trials and the regulatory process.
There he oversaw the development of a number of drug candidates
including small molecules, antibodies and tumor vaccines. Dr.
Hamilton was also actively involved in the evaluation of
in-licensing drug candidates for development. Dr. Hamilton
comments, "I am excited about the opportunity to join Avalon, a
young, vibrant company where my contributions will have a direct
and immediate impact. Avalon's approach to drug discovery, which
uses a systems biology approach that measures alterations in key
disease pathways, is very unique and I believe my clinical
experience will add important value in the Company's drug discovery
effort." Prior to his work at GlaxoSmithKline, Dr. Hamilton held
the positions of Section Chief of Clinical Investigations and
Program Director for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) where he
was involved in the development and execution of numerous clinical
trials and oncology. As Director of NCI Medical Oncology Fellowship
Training Program, he supervised clinical training of 30 fellows. As
Clinical Director, he was responsible for supervision of NCI
medical oncology research, inpatient and clinical nursing staff and
for operations of the National Naval Medical Center/NCI inpatient,
oncology ward and outpatient Hematology-Oncology clinic. Earlier in
his career at NCI, Dr. Hamilton also worked as a Senior
Investigator at the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program where he was
the NCI liaison to NCI Multi-institutional Cooperative Groups.
There he designed and reviewed clinical trials in various disease
areas and assisted in the review of clinical protocols. He also
convened panels for expert planning of disease strategies and
coordinated the planning of large intergroup clinical trials. Dr.
Hamilton received his Bachelor's degree from the University of
Connecticut and his M.D. from the George Washington University. He
completed his residency at the Washington Hospital Center in
Washington, D.C. He is a licensed M.D. in Maryland and board
certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. Hamilton
is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, The
American Society for Hematology, The American Association for
Cancer Research and the European Hematology Association. About
Avalon Pharmaceuticals Avalon Pharmaceuticals is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development
of small molecule therapeutics through the use of a comprehensive,
innovative and proprietary suite of technologies based upon
large-scale gene expression analysis which it calls AvalonRx(R).
This platform facilitates drug discovery by expanding the range of
therapeutic targets for drug intervention, including targets and
target pathways frequently considered intractable using
conventional HTS approaches, allows more informed decisions about
which compounds to advance towards clinical trials, and facilitates
drug development through identification of biomarkers of efficacy
that can stratify patients or provide early indicators of response.
Avalon's focus is oncology but the company has discovery programs
in other therapeutic areas with partners. Avalon Pharmaceuticals
was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Germantown,
Maryland. Contacts: Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Gary Lessing
Executive Vice President & CFO Tel: (301) 556-9900 Fax: (301)
556-9910 Email: Noonan Russo Wendy Lau (Media) Tel: (212) 845-4272
Matthew Haines (Investors) Tel: (212) 845-4235 DATASOURCE: Avalon
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Gary Lessing, Executive Vice
President & CFO of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
+1-301-556-9900, Fax: +1-301-556-9910, ; or Media: Wendy Lau,
+1-212-845-4272, or Investors: Matthew Haines, +1-212-845-4235,
both of Noonan Russo, both for Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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