Antigenics' CEO Wins NYC Biotech Entrepreneur of the Year; Dr. Garo Armen Honored at Ernst & Young Award Banquet.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available BIOWIRE2K Antigenics Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN) today announced that Ernst & Young has awarded the company's chairman and chief executive officer, Garo H. Armen Garo H. Armen is chairman and chief executive officer of Antigenics Inc., the biotechnology company he cofounded with Pramod Srivastava in 1994. From mid-2002 through 2004, he was chairman of the board of directors for the biopharmaceutical company Elan Corporation plc. Dr. , Ph.D., New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. Dr. Armen was selected as one of 38 regional entrepreneurs who were honored at Ernst & Young's celebration banquet last night in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . The award honors entrepreneurs for sound financial performance and other criteria such as social responsibility, quality of management and workplace culture. Dr. Armen founded Antigenics with Pramod Srivastava, Ph.D., in 1994 with the goal of commercializing Dr. Srivastava's discovery that heat shock proteins taken from one's own tumor could provide a powerful new weapon against cancers. Antigenics was one of the first companies worldwide to understand the need for such a patient-specific approach and focused on developing advanced alternatives to conventional treatments for a wide range of diseases. The company's personalized cancer vaccine, Oncophage(R), is currently being evaluated in pivotal Phase III studies for the treatment of kidney cancer Kidney Cancer Definition Kidney cancer is a disease in which the cells in certain tissues of the kidney start to grow uncontrollably and form tumors. and melanoma, and has been granted Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ) in both of these indications. Other clinical research evaluating Oncophage includes studies in several other cancers such as lymphoma, colorectal, pancreatic and stomach cancers. Antigenics is targeting a 2004 launch of its first oncology product. In addition, through an acquisition of Aronex Pharmaceuticals in July 2001, Antigenics added two liposomal chemotherapeutic products to its cancer portfolio - Aroplatin(TM) and ATRA-IV. Phase II trials of Aroplatin in pancreatic and colon cancers will begin this year, as will Phase II research of ATRA-IV in hematological malignancies. The company is also developing AG-702, a genital herpes Genital Herpes Definition Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a herpes virus. The disease is characterized by the formation of fluid-filled, painful blisters in the genital area. vaccine in early clinical testing, and QS-21, an immune adjuvant adjuvant /ad·ju·vant/ (aj?dbobr-vant) (a-joo´vant) 1. assisting or aiding. 2. a substance that aids another, such as an auxiliary remedy. 3. obtained through acquisition of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals in November 2000 that is being tested in several clinical vaccine programs by leading pharmaceutical partners. Prior to co-founding Antigenics, Dr. Armen established a money management firm focused on investing in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. In 1993, he directed a widely publicized transaction - the creation of the Immunex Lederle oncology business - and advised PerSeptive Biosystems in its restructuring. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Elan Corporation. Dr. Armen began his career on Wall Street in 1981 as an analyst and investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. at E.F. Hutton. He subsequently moved to Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American stock brokerage catering to the middle class. In 1997, it merged with the Morgan Stanley Group to form Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The amalgamated firm is now known as Morgan Stanley. as senior vice president of research, leading a team specializing in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Graduate Center, City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY; acronym: IPA pronunciation: [kjuni]), is the public university system of New York City. , and was appointed Research Fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratories in Long Island, N.Y., where his work centered on the fields of photosynthesis and energy production. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Ernst & Young holds Entrepreneur of the Year competitions in 42 cities throughout the country. All regional winners are then eligible for the overall National Entrepreneur of the Year award. All national finalists and award recipients will be announced in Palm Springs, Calif., on November 23, 2002. About Antigenics Antigenics' mission is to enhance and extend human lives through the development of superior health care products for a wide range of cancers, infectious diseases, and autoimmune and degenerative disorders. The company's cancer portfolio includes Oncophage, a personalized cancer vaccine in Phase III trials with FDA Fast Track Fast Track is a designation of the Food and Drug Administration that accelerates the approval of experimental drugs, such as experimental cancer treatments, that treat a serious or life-threatening medical condition for which no other drug either exists or works as well. designation for kidney cancer and melanoma; and two liposomal products in Phase II development: Aroplatin, a third-generation platinum chemotherapeutic, and ATRA-IV, a form of vitamin A vitamin A also called retinol Fat-soluble alcohol, most abundant in fatty fish and especially in fish-liver oils. It is not found in plants, but many vegetables and fruits contain beta-carotene (see . Other products in development include QS-21, an immune adjuvant being tested in several advanced clinical vaccine programs in partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies, and AG-702, a genital herpes immunotherapeutic agent in Phase I testing. For more information about Antigenics, please visit www.antigenics.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected timing of commencement of Phase II clinical trials of Aroplatin and ATRA-IV, and the targeted launch date for the company's first oncology product. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, that the company may be unsuccessful in obtaining the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct additional clinical trials or to market products; that the company may not enroll sufficient numbers of patients in its clinical trials; that the company's clinical trials may fail to demonstrate that its products are both safe and more effective than current standards of care Standards of care are medical or psychological treatment guidelines, and can be general or specific. They specify appropriate treatment protocols based on scientific evidence, and collaboration between medical and/or psychological professionals involved in the treatment of a given ; that the company may not adequately protect its intellectual property or be determined to infringe on the intellectual property of others; and the other factors described in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please see Exhibit 99.1 of the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for a full discussion of these risk factors. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this document. These statements speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Note: A Photo is available at URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.062602/bb1 |
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