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Company Focuses on Strategic International Expansion, Corporate Business Development, and Rapid Advancement of Preclinical and Clinical Programs
LONDON, ON–(Marketwired – June 15, 2016) – Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: COT) (OTCQB: COTQF) (“COTI” or the “Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, announced today the appointment of Ms. Alison Silva as the new President of the Company effective July 5, 2016. She will report to the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Dr. Wayne Danter.
As President, Ms. Silva will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Company including overseeing and managing its clinical trials, development programs, and regulatory activities, as well as heading up the corporate business development function. Dr. Danter will continue his responsibilities as the CEO and the Chief Scientific Officer of the Company. Currently, Ms. Silva serves on the Board of the Company and will continue to hold a Board seat in her new position.
“Alison has made significant contributions as a member of our Board and we are thrilled to have her in this new role of President. Alison’s experience is ideally suited for driving products from early stage development through proof of concept studies for orphan indications, while also leveraging business development opportunities to unlock value from our unique drug discovery platform,” said Mr. John Drake, Chairman of the Board.
“Alison’s significant biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience includes strategic and cross-functional expertise, and an understanding of the orphan drug development process that will add significant value as we build the COTI-2 oncology program and broaden the initial clinical scope into other areas of unmet medical need,” said Dr. Danter. “I am very much looking forward to working closely with Alison to bring this important treatment option to these patients,” said Dr. Danter.
“I am delighted to be joining COTI in this leadership role,” said Ms. Silva. “As a Board member during the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the rapid growth and maturity of the Company’s pipeline of innovative and targeted oncology programs. I believe this is the ideal time to engage in a more active role in shaping the future of the Company. Our COTI-2 molecule, currently in the clinic, offers significant opportunities to be a potentially transformative treatment in a wide range of orphan and common p53-mediated cancers. The opportunity to work closely and collaboratively with the COTI team, our Investigators and Key Opinion Leaders to realize the broad potential of COTI-2 and the Company’s growing pipeline of drug candidates generated from our underlying proprietary technology platform is very exciting.”
Alison joins the Company from Synlogic, Inc. where she was a co-founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (“COO”), leading the regulatory strategy, drug development, and operational aspects of the company’s focus on the discovery and development of engineered therapeutic probiotics. Alison is also a co-founder of The Orphan Group, a specialty consulting company focused on assisting companies with developing and implementing their orphan drug strategy and product lifecycle management.
Alison previously held the position of COO SLA Pharma, a GI-oncology focused biotech company, where she was responsible for heading up their U.S. corporate and clinical operations for their pipeline of orphan drug candidates. Prior to joining SLA Pharma, Alison was Vice President of Drug Development at Marina Biotech through its acquisition of Cequent Pharmaceuticals in 2010, where she held the same role since 2007. Alison began her career in drug development in clinical operations with various positions at Pfizer, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Massachusetts. Alison holds a Bachelor’s degree from Clark University and a Master’s degree from Clark University and UMass Medical Center.
Alison will be based in Boston, MA as COTI continues to plan for an increased presence in the U.S. to more readily access its potential licensees, collaborators, and investors.
About Critical Outcome Technologies Inc.
COTI is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative and targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s lead compound, COTI-2, has a novel p53-dependent mechanism of action with selective and potent anti-cancer activity. COTI-2 is being initially evaluated for the treatment of gynecologic cancers, which includes ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers in a Phase 1 clinical trial at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Company has secured orphan drug status in the US for COTI-2 for the treatment of ovarian cancer in patients failing first line therapies and is planning additional studies in other cancer indications such as head and neck, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, and acute myelogenous leukemia, based upon more than ten animal xenograft models showing both single and combination agent activity of COTI-2 with other leading cancer drugs. Preclinical data provides evidence to suggest a potentially dramatic change in the treatment of cancers with mutations of the p53 gene.
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Notice to Readers
Information contained in this press release may contain certain statements, which constitute “forward- looking statements” as such term is defined under applicable securities laws. For example, the statement, “… will add significant value as we build the COTI-2 oncology program and broaden the initial clinical scope into other areas of unmet medical need …” and “… offers significant opportunities to be a potentially transformative treatment in a wide range of orphan and common p53-mediated cancers …” are forward-looking statements. Forward‐looking statements by their nature are not guarantees of future performance and are based upon management’s current expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. COTI operates in a highly competitive environment that involves significant risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward‐looking statements. Management of COTI considers the assumptions on which these forward‐looking statements are based to be reasonable, but as a result of the many risk factors, cautions the reader that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Information in this press release should be considered accurate only as of the date of the release and may be superseded by more recent information disclosed in later press releases, filings with the securities regulatory authorities or otherwise.