Further senior organisational changes made in preparation
for advancing bemcentinib into the next stage of clinical
development in multiple aggressive cancers
BERGEN, Norway,
Nov. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company developing novel, oral, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for
multiple cancer indications, is delighted to announce the
appointment of Alan Barge MD as
Interim Chief Medical Officer and member of the leadership team.
The Company also announces further senior organisational changes
and a strengthening of its clinical operations as it prepares for
the intended advancement of its lead candidate bemcentinib into the
next stages of clinical development.
Dr Barge is a board-certified oncologist and haematologist, with
more than 25 years of experience in cancer drug development, spent
primarily at AstraZeneca and Amgen. He spent over 12 years at
AstraZeneca, where he was VP and Head Oncology and Infection,
during which time he was responsible for the development of Iressa®
(gefitinib) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the
translational research that resulted in the successful personalised
medicine strategy for AZ. Prior to AZ, Dr Barge was European and
Global Medical Director at Amgen, at which he was responsible for
European approval and label extensions for several of Amgen's
cancer therapies. More recently, Dr Barge has been actively
involved in the biotech sector in both CMO and non-executive
positions, including CMO of Carrick Therapeutics (UK and
Ireland) and SVP Oncology at ASLAN
Pharmaceuticals (Singapore).
Dr Barge will work as part of BerGenBio's leadership team on an
interim basis until a permanent CMO is appointed.
Richard Godfrey, Chief
Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "We are
delighted to welcome Alan to the team. His vast experience
from developing successful cancer drugs with AstraZeneca and Amgen
will be most valuable in forming and executing the Company's
clinical and regulatory strategy for bemcentinib as we enter the
next phase of development. We anticipate further results from our
phase II proof-of-concept studies of bemcentinib in NSCLC and AML
in the coming months, and aim to start a randomised phase 2 trial
programme in these indications in 2019."
In addition, BerGenBio announces the promotion of Dr
Anthony Brown to Chief Scientific
Officer from Director of Research, succeeding BerGenBio co-founder
Professor James Lorens, who becomes
a Senior Scientific Advisor to the Company. Murray Yule, BerGenBio's Clinical Development
Officer, will leave the Company with effect from 30 November 2018. Further, as noted during the
Company's Q3 2018 results presentation, Dr Tone Bjaaland has
recently been appointed as Director of Clinical Operations (>25
years' experience in clinical research) and further strengthens the
team.
About BerGenBio ASA
BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused
on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential
cornerstone of therapy for advanced and aggressive cancers. The
company's proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, is a potential
first-in- class, selective AXL inhibitor in a broad phase II
clinical development programme. Ongoing clinical trials are
investigating bemcentinib in multiple solid and haematological
tumours, in combination with current and emerging therapies
(including immunotherapies, targeted therapies and chemotherapy),
and as a single agent.
In parallel, BerGenBio is developing a companion diagnostics
test to identify patient populations most likely to benefit from
bemcentinib: this is expected to facilitate more efficient
registration trials and support a precision medicine-based
commercialisation strategy.
BerGenBio is based in Bergen,
Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo
Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). www.bergenbio.com
Contacts
Richard Godfrey CEO, BerGenBio ASA
+47-917-86-304
Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio
ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
+47-917-86-513
International Media Relations
David Dible, Mark Swallow, Marine
Perrier, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
bergenbio@citigatedewerogerson.com
+44-207-638-9571
Media Relations in Norway
Jan Petter Stiff, Crux
Advisers
stiff@crux.no
+47-995-13-891
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements,
which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various
assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further
assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to
significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and
other important factors could cause actual events to differ
materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this
announcement by such forward-looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements
pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading
Act
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SOURCE BerGenBio ASA