YM BioSciences appoints John Friedman to its Board of Directors
April 08 2004 - 2:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
YM BioSciences appoints John Friedman to its Board of Directors
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Canada, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- YM
BioSciences Inc. (TSX:YM, AIM:YMBA), the cancer drug development
company, today announced the appointment of Mr. John Friedman to
its Board of Directors. Mr. Friedman is the Managing Partner of
Easton Hunt Capital Partners of New York, whose principal
investment focus is life sciences and growth capital opportunities.
"Mr. Friedman's depth of experience and breadth of relationships in
both the life sciences and financial industries will be an
invaluable resource as we advance our late-stage portfolio of
cancer drugs," said David Allan, Chairman and CEO of YM BioSciences
Inc. "His appointment to the board will also help to broaden YM's
presence in the US market place, which we initiated with a Cdn$19
million round of financing in December 2003. This appointment will
complement YM's increasing visibility in the US resulting from the
recruitment of patients into our current pivotal Phase III trial in
metastatic breast cancer, and from the implementation of our
previously announced intention to list on a US stock exchange."
Prior to founding Easton Capital, Mr. Friedman was the founder and
Managing General Partner of Security Pacific Capital Investors, a
$200-million private equity fund geared towards expansion
financings and recapitalizations. Mr. Friedman has also been a
Managing Director and Partner at E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co.
Inc., where he spent eight and a half years. During his tenure, he
was involved in Warburg's investments in Computerland, Tweeds,
Babbages' and US Healthcare. Previously, Mr. Friedman was an
attorney with Sullivan and Cromwell and holds a JD degree from Yale
Law School and a BA degree from Yale College. He currently serves
on the Boards of Conor Medsystems, Renovis, Acorda Therapeutics,
Comverse Technology, Trellis Bioscience, Assistive Technology, and
ModelWire, Inc., and is on the President's Council at the Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory. Mr. Friedman replaces John D. Morgan on
the Company's Board of Directors, who resigned in order to
accommodate the appointment of Mr. Friedman. About YM BioSciences
YM BioSciences Inc. is a cancer drug development company. Its lead
drug, tesmilifene, is a small molecule chemopotentiator (for
taxanes and anthracyclines) that has recently been cleared by the
FDA for a pivotal Phase III in metastatic breast cancer for which
it had previously completed a Phase III trial with positive
results. In addition to tesmilifene, the Company is developing an
EGFr humanized monoclonal antibody that has completed Phase II
trials and a GnRH anti-cancer vaccine also in clinical trials. YM
is also supporting the preclinical development of two additional
cancer products. Except for historical information, this press
release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect the
Company's current expectation regarding future events. These
forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, which
may cause but are not limited to, changing market conditions, the
successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the
establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties
related to the regulatory approval process and other risks detailed
from time to time in the Company's ongoing quarterly and annual
reporting. DATASOURCE: YM BioSciences Inc. CONTACT: Enquiries:
James Smith, The Equicom Group Inc., Tel. +1 (416) 815-0700 x229,
Email: ; YM BioSciences Inc., Tel. +1 (905) 629-9761, Fax +1 (905)
629-4959, Email:
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