Cyternex Appoints William G. Rice, Ph.D., as President and CEO and Announces Company Name Change to Cylene Pharmaceuticals.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K BIO VentureForum West 2003 SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2003 New President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Presents at BIO Venture Forum West 2003 Cyternex, Inc., an oncology drug discovery and development company, today announced it has appointed William G. Rice, Ph.D., as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, and changed its name to Cylene Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Rice announced the company's new name and positioning today at BIO Venture Forum West 2003 in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . "Our new identity better reflects our pharmaceutical product focus, and what has developed into a major drug discovery platform in gene silencing," said Tom Farrell For the Gimme Gimme Gimme character, see . Thomas ("Tom") Francis Farrell (born 18 January, 1944) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres. He attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York. , Cylene founder and Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. . "The name Cylene is both a reference to Cyllenius, the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology Greek mythology Oral and literary traditions of the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes and the nature and history of the cosmos. The Greek myths and legends are known today primarily from Greek literature, including such classic works as Homer's Iliad and , and a hybrid of the words 'gene' and 'silent'." Prior to joining Cylene, Dr. Rice was the founder, President, CEO and Director of Achillion Pharmaceuticals. Under his leadership, Achillion recruited a top senior management team, rapidly advanced a product candidate through clinical trials, built highly productive discovery and clinical development programs, and raised over $65 million. Prior to Achillion, Dr. Rice was Senior Scientist and Head of the Drug Mechanism Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute-Frederick Research Center. "Cylene represents a tremendous opportunity for me to leverage my experience to build a premier biotech company around a core of exceptional people and technologies," commented Dr. Rice. "Cylene has discovered the first true small molecule approach to therapeutic gene silencing, and is poised to advance several products into the clinic over the next few years. The applications of the technology will represent a major step forward in oncology." "We are delighted to have recruited a CEO of Dr. Rice's caliber," said Fred Middleton of Sanderling Ventures, a Cylene investor and Board Member. "It's an indication of the tremendous potential of the company's pipeline and platform. Under Dr. Rice's leadership, we expect the company to move rapidly into clinical development and to have a major impact upon the field of oncology." Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Cyternex, Inc.) is a privately-held pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class small molecule drugs to treat life-threatening diseases, with a particular emphasis in the oncology arena. Cylene's pipeline is led by the CX-1322 series, currently in preclinical preclinical /pre·clin·i·cal/ (-klin´i-k'l) before a disease becomes clinically recognizable. pre·clin·i·cal adj. 1. development for the treatment of pancreatic cancer pancreatic cancer Malignant tumour of the pancreas. Risk factors include smoking, a diet high in fat, exposure to certain industrial products, and diseases such as diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatic cancer is more common in men. . Additional molecules in the pipeline are drawn from the company's proprietary platform, which directs small molecules at molecular targets that regulate the expression of key oncogenes oncogenes 1. genes carried by tumor viruses that are directly and solely responsible for the neoplastic transformation of host cells. Many oncogenes function after integration into the DNA of the host cell and some up-regulate normal downstream host cell genes to cause neoplasia. and other disease-related proliferation proliferation /pro·lif·er·a·tion/ (pro-lif?er-a´shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif´erativeprolif´erous pro·lif·er·a·tion n. genes. The company is establishing its leadership position in small molecule directed gene silencing by commercializing the pioneering work of two Cylene founders, Professors Laurence Hurley and Daniel Von Hoff. |
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