Kitov Pharma Ltd. (“Kitov”) (NASDAQ/TASE:
KTOV), a clinical-stage company advancing first-in-class therapies
to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, today
announced the appointment of Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D., as chairman of
its board of directors.
Dr. Rowinsky joins Kitov’s Board with extensive cancer research
and drug development experience, oncology and corporate strategy
expertise, and broad scientific and medical knowledge. In his
distinguished career in academia and in the biopharma industry, Dr.
Rowinsky has held executive leadership and board roles at leading
public companies, including ImClone Systems Inc., Stemline Inc.,
Biogen Inc., Verastem Oncology, Inc., and Fortress Biotech,
Inc. He has played an integral role in the development
and registration of at least 12 anticancer therapeutics
worldwide.
“We welcome Dr. Rowinsky to our Board. He has remarkable
experience as an executive and board member of global
biopharmaceutical companies, and a successful track record
advancing oncology drugs. His insight will be a great asset to
Kitov as we develop first-in-class oncology therapies,” said Isaac
Israel, chief executive officer of Kitov. “We plan on launching a
Phase 1/2 study to investigate NT-219 in combination with cetuximab
in the first of potentially multiple cancer indications early next
year and a Phase 1/2 study to investigate CM-24 in combination with
nivolumab in clinical collaboration with Bristol-Mayer Squib. We
look forward to Dr. Rowinsky’s insight based on his knowledge and
experience in this field.”
“I am excited to join Kitov’s Board and provide guidance as the
company focuses its efforts on oncology. I share the company’s
drive to overcome drug resistance and tumor immune evasion in
hard-to-treat cancers. I’m honored to be a part of the clinical
development of CM-24 as a novel immune-checkpoint and advancement
of NT-219 into clinic in 2020 as a combination therapy alongside
cetuximab, whose clinical development I led,” said Dr.
Rowinsky.
Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D., has decades of
experience in corporate strategy, academia, research and drug
development in the oncology space. He has been the Executive
Director and President of RGenix, Inc. since June 2016. He also has
served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Clearpath Development Co.
since June 2016. Prior to this, Dr. Rowinsky served as the Head of
Research and Development, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice
President of Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. from February 2011 to
January 2016. In 2010, Dr. Rowinsky co-founded Primrose
Therapeutics and became its Chief Executive Officer, until it was
acquired in 2011. From 2005 to 2010, he served as the Chief Medical
Officer and Executive Vice President of Clinical Development and
Regulatory Affairs of ImClone Systems Incorporated, a life sciences
company focused on monoclonal antibodies, which was acquired by Eli
Lilly and Company. Previous to that, Dr. Rowinsky held several
positions at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center’s Institute of
Drug Development, including Director of the Institute and SBC
Endowed Chair for Early Drug Development. Prior to that, he served
as Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical
Oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San
Antonio and as Associate Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. Dr. Rowinsky presently serves on the
boards of directors of the public companies Biogen Idec, Inc.,
Fortress Biosciences, Inc., and Verastem Inc. He formerly served on
the boards of directors of the public companies Navidea
Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (2010-2018), BIND Therapeutics (2014-2016),
and Biophytis S.A. (2018-2019), as well as at a number of privately
held companies. Dr. Rowinsky received a B.A. degree in
Liberal Arts from New York University. He earned his M.D.
from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed a
residency in internal medicine at University of California and a
fellowship in medical oncology at Johns Hopkins University. Dr.
Rowinsky led the clinical development and regulatory approval of
several oncology therapies, including Erbitux (cetuximab).
About Kitov Pharma
Kitov Pharma (Kitov Pharma Ltd.; NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV) is a
clinical-stage company advancing first-in-class therapies to
overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, to create
successful long-lasting treatments for people with cancer. Kitov’s
oncology pipeline includes NT-219, a small molecule targeting the
novel cancer drug resistance pathways IRS1/2 and STAT3. Kitov is
currently advancing NT-219 in combination with cetuximab as a
third-line or second-line treatment option for the treatment of
recurrent and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head & neck
cancer (SCCHN). Kitov is also under contract to acquire 100% of
FameWave Ltd. which owns CM-24, a monoclonal antibody blocking
CEACAM1, a novel immune checkpoint that supports tumor immune
evasion and survival through multiple pathways. Kitov will advance
CM-24 as a combination therapy with anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors
for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Following
the receipt of the approval of Kitov’s shareholders for the
acquisition of FameWave, and the finalization of a clinical
collaboration agreement between FameWave and Bristol Myers Squibb
(NYSE:BMY) for their planned Phase 1/2 clinical trials to evaluate
the combination of CM-24 with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab
(Opdivo®), the acquisition is expected to close during the third
quarter of 2019, subject to fulfillment of certain additional
closing conditions. Consensi, a fixed-dose combination of celecoxib
and amlodipine besylate, for the simultaneous treatment of
osteoarthritis pain and hypertension was approved by the FDA for
marketing in the U.S in May 2018 and is expected to be launched in
the U.S. at the end of 2019 by its partner Coeptis Pharmaceuticals.
Kitov has also partnered to commercialize Consensi in China and
South Korea. The company is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. For
more information, please visit http://www.kitovpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements and Kitov's
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release that are
forward-looking and not statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements that are not statements of historical fact, and may be
identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”,
“may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “seek”, “target”, “will”,
“project”, “forecast”, “continue” or “anticipate” or their
negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or
by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to
historical matters. You should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future
performance. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views,
expectations, beliefs or intentions with respect to future events,
and are subject to a number of assumptions, involve known and
unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, as well as
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements to be significantly different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
or contribute to such differences include, among others, risks
relating to: the manner in which the parties to the transaction for
the acquisition of FameWave by Kitov plan to effect the
transaction; the expected benefits, synergies and costs of the
transaction; management plans relating to the transaction; the
expected timing of the completion of the transaction; the parties’
ability to complete the transaction considering the various closing
conditions; the plans, strategies and objectives of management for
future operations; product development for NT219 and CM-24; the
potential future financial impact of the transaction; and any
assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; the process by which
early stage products such as CM-24 could potentially lead to
an approved product is long and subject to highly significant
risks, particularly with respect to a joint development
collaboration; the fact that drug development and commercialization
involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes;
our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our
pharmaceutical products; the expense, length, progress and results
of any clinical trials; the lack of sufficient funding to finance
the clinical trials; the impact of any changes in regulation and
legislation that could affect the pharmaceutical industry; the
difficulty in receiving the regulatory approvals necessary in order
to commercialize our products; the difficulty of predicting actions
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other applicable
regulator of pharmaceutical products; the regulatory environment
and changes in the health policies and regimes in the countries in
which we operate; the uncertainty surrounding the actual market
reception to our pharmaceutical products once cleared for marketing
in a particular market; the introduction of competing products;
patents attained by competitors; dependence on the effectiveness of
our patents and other protections for innovative products; our
ability to obtain, maintain and defend issued patents with
protective claims; the commencement of any patent interference or
infringement action; our ability to prevail, obtain a favorable
decision or recover damages in any such action; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions,
and other factors that are discussed in our in our Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 and in our other
filings with the SEC, including our cautionary discussion of risks
and uncertainties under ‘Risk Factors’ in our Registration
Statements and Annual Reports. These are factors that we believe
could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected
results. Other factors besides those we have listed could also
adversely affect us. Any forward-looking statement in this press
release speaks only as of the date which it is made. We disclaim
any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, or other information contained herein,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by applicable law. You are advised, however, to
consult any additional disclosures we make in our reports to the
SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website,
http://www.sec.gov
Investor Contact:Gil Efron Deputy & Chief
Financial Officer
IR@kitovpharma.com+972-3-933-3121 ext. #105
Media Contact:Gloria
Gasaaturaggasaatura@lifescipublicrelations.com +1 646 627
8387
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