SEATTLE, Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CTI BioPharma
Corp. (CTI BioPharma) (NASDAQ and MTA: CTIC) today announced that
Laurent Fischer, M.D. has been
appointed its new Chairman of the Board and the promotion of
David H. Kirske to Chief Financial
Officer and Bruce J. Seeley to Chief
Operating Officer of the company.
"The appointments announced today strengthen and solidify our
board and leadership at an important time for the company," said
Adam R. Craig, M.D., Ph.D.,
President and CEO of CTI BioPharma. "Laurent brings a wealth of
industry knowledge and experience in both drug development and
enhancing shareholder value. Already part of the senior management
team, Bruce and David bring operational and financial expertise to
CTI BioPharma as we continue to transform into a leaner, more
focused organization."
"I am pleased to serve as Chairman as the changes taking place
at the company provide the opportunity to deliver on the commitment
to patients and shareholders," said Dr. Fischer. "I look forward to
continuing to work with the Board and the executive team to help
realize CTI BioPharma's potential."
Laurent Fischer
Dr. Fischer has been a director at the company since July, 2017.
Dr. Fischer is currently Senior Vice President, Head of the Liver
Therapeutic Area at Allergan following the acquisition of
Tobira Therapeutics. Dr. Fischer has served as a Senior Advisor on
the Frazier Healthcare Partners' Life Sciences team
since March 2017. He was previously chairman and CEO
of Jennerex, Inc., a company with a first-in-class oncolytic
immunotherapy for Liver Cancer acquired for $150
million by Sillajen. He was co-founder, president and CEO
of Ocera Therapeutics and held senior positions at
DuPont-Merck, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, and Hoffmann-La Roche in
liver disease, virology and oncology. Dr. Fischer received his
undergraduate degree from the University of Geneva and
his medical degree from the Geneva Medical
School, Switzerland.
Executive Management Promotions
David H. Kirske joined the
company earlier in 2017 and served as the Principal Financial and
Accounting Officer prior to being appointed Chief Financial
Officer. Mr. Kirske's financial management experience includes
overseeing finance, accounting, operations, and capitalization, in
both debt and equity. Prior to joining CTI BioPharma, he was an
independent CFO consultant since January
2013. Prior to his time as a consultant, he served as Vice
President and CFO of Helix BioMedix where he managed all financial
and administrative activities. Previously, he was the Treasurer and
Corporate Controller for F-5 Networks and Redhook Brewery where he
managed both corporate and international entities, as well as being
part of the management teams that led and executed each company's
successful initial public offerings. Earlier in his career, he held
a controllership position at Cray Computer. Mr. Kirske holds a B.A.
in Business Administration from the University
of Puget Sound.
Bruce J. Seeley joined the
company in 2015 and served as the Chief Commercial and
Adminstrative Officer and Secretary prior to being appointed Chief
Operating Officer. Mr. Seeley has more than 25 years of global
commercial experience and a proven track record of successfully
launching products in various markets and regulatory environments.
Most recently, Mr. Seeley was Senior Vice President and General
Manager of Diagnostics at NanoString Technologies Inc. overseeing
the launch of the diagnostic product PROSIGNA® for early stage
breast cancer. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of
Commercial at Seattle Genetics where he built and led the
commercial organization, including marketing, sales and managed
markets, and successfully launched the company's first product,
ADCETRIS®, a targeted therapy for lymphoma. He also previously held
key leadership positions in marketing at Genentech (now a member of
the Roche Group), where he led the launch of HERCEPTIN® in adjuvant
breast cancer. Earlier in his career he held various commercial
roles at Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (a part of Sanofi) and
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Mr. Seeley received a B.A. In Sociology
from the University of California at Los
Angeles.
About CTI BioPharma
CTI BioPharma Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel
targeted therapies covering a spectrum of blood-related cancers
that offer a unique benefit to patients and healthcare providers.
CTI BioPharma has a late-stage development pipeline, including
pacritinib for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis. CTI
BioPharma is headquartered in Seattle,
Washington. For additional information and to sign up for
email alerts and get RSS feeds, please visit
www.ctibiopharma.com.
CTI BioPharma Contacts:
Ed Bell
+1 206-272-4345
ebell@ctibiopharma.com
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SOURCE CTI BioPharma Corp.