EUCLISES ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF BOBBY SANDAGE AS NEW CEO
Development Experience to Drive Entry of Novel COX-2 Inhibitors into Clinical Trials for Cancer
St. Louis, MO. – January 27, 2015 – Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, today announced that Bobby W. Sandage, Jr., Ph.D., has joined the company as its President and CEO. He replaces Rajesh Devraj, Ph.D., who remains on the Euclises Board of Directors.
Dr. Sandage brings three decades of experience and a successful track record of driving new medicines through development and into clinical practice. He most recently served as President and CEO of Coronado Biosciences and was previously vice president of Covidien Pharmaceuticals’ oncology R&D program. For 19 years, Dr. Sandage was the CSO and EVP of R&D at Indevus Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals in 2009. Prior to Indevus, he held senior drug development positions at DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company, DuPont/American Critical Care, Merrell Dow, and Dow Pharmaceuticals.
“Euclises has brought forward a pipeline of promising new COX-2 inhibitors just at a time when interest is rapidly building around the roles of COX-2 and PGE2 in the tumor microenvironment, in cancer stem cell survival, and in driving resistance to standard of care cancer therapies,” said Dr. Sandage. “The company has already assembled a strong team, and I am excited to join them in bringing a next-generation coxib to the clinic for cancer.”
“Bobby’s background in clinical development and his history of building successful development companies complement the deep COX-2 and oncology experience at Euclises,” said Rick Ryan, Ph.D., of Cultivation Capital. “The rest of the board and I look forward to working with him to ensure that we realize the full potential of EuclicoxibsTM to treat cancer. At the same time, we also want to thank Dr. Devraj for his tireless efforts in helping to bring Euclises to where it is today.”
Dr. Sandage joins Drs. Devraj and Ryan, along with Charles Bolten of BioGenerator, Robert Calcaterra, D.Sc., of the St. Louis Arch Angels, and Robert Beardsley, Ph.D., Executive Chair at Galera Therapeutics, Inc., on the Euclises Board of Directors.
About Euclises:
Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Euclises) is a drug discovery and development company focused on novel cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors for use in the oncology setting. The company is developing a portfolio of COX-2 inhibitors optimized for cancer treatment based on its proprietary EuclicoxibTM platform and is in the process of selecting a lead clinical development candidate. In 2014, Euclises and Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) announced a development agreement, under which GIBH is advancing one of the candidates for pain and inflammation indications in China and the two are coordinating mutual development activities. The company is currently headquartered within the BioGenerator Accelerator Labs at CORTEX and supported by funding from Cultivation Capital, BioGenerator, Missouri Technology Corporation, the St. Louis Arch Angels, and other investors. For more information, visit the Euclises website at www.euclises.com.
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Media Relations Contact:
George Capps
Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(314) 932-4032 x317
gcapps@euclises.com