- Recent in-licensing of GDC-0084 and advancement of Cantrixil
to phase I represent transformation of Novogen to clinical-stage
organisation; recent appointments of Chief Medical Officer and Head
of CMC position Novogen for success in these activities
- Dr David Brown, Chief
Scientific Officer, and Dr Andrew
Heaton, Head of Discovery and President and CEO of Novogen
North America, will leave Novogen to pursue new opportunities in
early-stage drug discovery
- Separately, Cristyn Humphreys,
Chief Financial Officer, will leave Novogen to assume a new role
outside the industry
SYDNEY, March 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian
oncology-focused biotechnology company, Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT;
NASDAQ: NVGN) announces changes to the company's senior management
which support the transformation of Novogen from a discovery
research organisation to one focused on clinical development, with
GDC-0084 preparing for phase II and Cantrixil now in phase I
trials.
Over the past nine months, Novogen has recruited additional
expertise to the team, with the appointments of Dr Gordon Hirsch as Chief Medical Officer, Dr
Peng Leong as Chief Business
Officer, and David Cain as Director
of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC). Meanwhile, the
Company retains a team of highly-experienced scientists who have
worked with the Company's key technologies for some time, and who
are well-positioned to continue pursuit of the ongoing early-stage
discovery research programs. Collectively, these changes leave the
company well-placed to move forward its portfolio, and especially
to progress the clinical-stage programs GDC-0084 and Cantrixil.
In this context, three senior executives will be leaving the
Company in March 2017 to pursue new
opportunities. Dr David Brown and Dr
Andrew Heaton will be leaving to
explore a planned new venture in early-stage drug discovery. In an
unrelated move, Ms Cristyn Humphreys
has resigned in order to take a new role outside of the
industry.
Dr James Garner, Chief Executive
Officer, said, "David and Andrew were effectively among the
founders of Novogen in its current form, and their contribution to
the company over time has been substantial. They have been
instrumental in moving us forward and transforming Novogen to a
point where Cantrixil is now in a phase I clinical trial. They have
now resolved to explore new challenges in early-stage drug
discovery and all of us in the Novogen team wish them well in this
new chapter of their respective careers."
Cristyn Humphreys, Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) at Novogen will leave Novogen later this
month to assume a new role outside the industry. The Company will
initiate a search for a replacement senior financial leader. The
transition will be overseen by Kate
Hill, formerly a Partner at Deloitte, who currently serves
as Company Secretary.
Dr Garner added, "Cristyn
Humphreys has made a vital contribution in helping to
navigate Novogen through an eventful few years. Her advice and
support has been invaluable, and we all wish her every success in
her new role."
Novogen remains highly focused on advancing GDC-0084 and
Cantrixil into and through the clinical trials, while appropriately
moving forward the earlier-stage programs. The Company looks
forward to sharing further progress with investors.
About Novogen Limited
Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT; NASDAQ: NVGN) is an emerging
oncology-focused biotechnology company, based in Sydney, Australia. Novogen has a portfolio of
four development candidates, diversified across three distinct
technologies, with the potential to yield first-in-class and
best-in-class agents across a range of oncology indications.
The lead program is GDC-0084, a small molecule inhibitor of the
PI3K / AKT / mTOR pathway, which is being developed to treat
glioblastoma multiforme. Licensed from Genentech in late 2016,
GDC-0084 is anticipated to enter phase II clinical trials in 2017.
Three further molecules have been developed in-house from two
proprietary drug discovery platforms (superbenzopyrans and
anti-tropomyosins) to treat ovarian cancer and a range of solid
tumours. Cantrixil, the most advanced of these, commenced a
first-in-human clinical study in patients with ovarian cancer in
late 2016, while Anisina and Trilexium are in preclinical
development.
For more information, please visit: www.novogen.com
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SOURCE Novogen Limited