GPC Biotech Announces Restructuring
23 Agosto 2007 - 12:58AM
PR Newswire (US)
Company Implements Leadership Succession Plan for Drug Development
Team MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany and PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 23
/PRNewswire- FirstCall/ -- GPC Biotech AG (Frankfurt Stock
Exchange: GPC; TecDAX index; Nasdaq: GPCB) today announced a
restructuring that will involve U.S. staff reductions of
approximately 15 percent of the Company's total workforce. GPC
Biotech also announced today that, as part of a succession plan
that was put into place in 2006, Martine George, M.D. will succeed
Marcel Rozencweig, M.D. as Senior Vice President, Drug Development
and Chief Medical Officer and will assume leadership of the
Company's drug development team. Dr. Rozencweig will remain with
the Company in the new role of Senior Vice President, Clinical
Science and Drug Evaluation to focus on identifying and pursuing
new drug development in-licensing opportunities. Bernd R.
Seizinger, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, said: "The
decision to reduce staff has been a very difficult one to make,
particularly since we have been able to build and grow such stellar
teams. However, these decisions were necessary as we focus on
moving the Company forward and planning for our future. I would
like to express my sincere appreciation to the affected employees
for their important contributions to GPC Biotech. I would also like
to emphasize that our belief in satraplatin remains strong and we
are committed to doing everything we can to bring satraplatin
successfully to the market." Dr. Seizinger continued: "We hired Dr.
Martine George over a year ago as part of a succession plan to
ensure a smooth transition in the critical area of drug
development, as Dr. Rozencweig had indicated that he would like to
gradually reduce his operational involvement. Dr. George's
extensive experience in driving oncology development at major
pharmaceutical companies and her strong contributions since joining
GPC Biotech make her well-suited to move our development efforts
forward and build on the excellent work of Dr. Rozencweig. I am
happy that Dr. Rozencweig has agreed to stay with GPC Biotech and
help us as we intensify our efforts to in-license promising
compounds as well as continue to support us with the preparations
for re-filing our NDA for satraplatin based on the overall survival
analysis. He is an important member of our senior management team,
and his strong network in the oncology community and many years of
development experience will continue to be invaluable resources to
the Company." Martine George, M.D. joined GPC Biotech as Senior
Vice President, Clinical Development in the spring of 2006. At that
time Dr. George, a well-known oncology expert, had over fifteen
years of experience at major pharmaceutical companies, as well as
several years in an academic position as a medical oncologist.
Prior to joining GPC Biotech, Dr. George was Senior Vice President,
Head of Oncology at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research
and Development. Before that she held a number of executive
positions in the areas of clinical and medical affairs, including
at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now part of Sanofi-Aventis), Sandoz
Pharmaceuticals Corporation (now Novartis) and American Cyanamid.
The Company's restructuring plan involves a staff reduction of 46
of currently 316 employees or approximately 15% of the total
workforce. All affected staff are based in the U.S., with
reductions in the commercialization, drug development and general
and administrative groups. Affected employees will be eligible for
severance packages that include severance pay, continuation of
benefits and outplacement services. The Company has retained a core
team in all affected functional areas which can serve as a basis
for rebuilding in the future. The Company is also retaining the
personnel needed to prepare and file as quickly as possible a
potential NDA for satraplatin based on overall survival results.
GPC Biotech is also planning to slow down certain ongoing
activities and not make further financial commitments to its 1D09C3
monoclonal antibody and cell cycle inhibitors programs at this
time. However, the Company plans to maintain the capability to ramp
up these programs later, should more resources be available to do
so. The Company also plans to continue ongoing satraplatin trials,
including the SPERA expanded access program. About GPC Biotech GPC
Biotech AG is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused
on discovering, developing and commercializing new anticancer
drugs. GPC Biotech's lead product candidate satraplatin is
currently in a Phase 3 registrational trial in second-line
hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Satraplatin was in-licensed
from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. GPC Biotech has ongoing various
drug development and discovery programs and also has an active
program to identify and pursue promising drug development
in-licensing opportunities. GPC Biotech AG is headquartered in
Martinsried/Munich (Germany) and has a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary
headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. For additional information,
please visit GPC Biotech's Web site at http://www.gpc-/
biotech.com. This press release contains forward-looking
statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of
the management of GPC Biotech AG. Such statements are based on
current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control, that could cause future
results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from
the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ
materially depending on a number of factors, and we caution
investors not to place undue reliance on the forward- looking
statements contained in this press release. In particular, there
can be no guarantee that the results from the final analysis of
overall survival data from the SPARC trial will be available when
anticipated or sufficient to support regulatory approval in the
United States or elsewhere. In addition, there can be no guarantee
that additional information relating to the safety, efficacy or
tolerability of satraplatin will not be obtained upon further
analysis of data from the SPARC trial or analysis of additional
data from other ongoing clinical trials for satraplatin.
Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that satraplatin will be approved
for marketing in a timely manner, if at all, by regulatory
authorities nor that, if marketed, satraplatin will be a successful
commercial product. Additionally, we cannot guarantee that our
efforts to in-license drug development candidates will be
successful nor that, if we do in-license candidates, these programs
will be successfully developed and approved for marketing. We
direct you to GPC Biotech's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 and other reports filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional details
on the important factors that may affect the future results,
performance and achievements of GPC Biotech. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and GPC
Biotech undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements, even if new information becomes available in the
future. Satraplatin has not yet been approved by the FDA in the
U.S., the EMEA in Europe or any other regulatory authority and no
conclusions can or should be drawn regarding its safety or
effectiveness. Only the relevant regulatory authorities can
determine whether satraplatin is safe and effective for the use(s)
being investigated. DATASOURCE: GPC Biotech AG CONTACT: Germany-
Martin Braendle, Director, Investor Relations & Corporate
Communications, +49(0) 89-8565-2693, , or U.S.- Laurie Doyle,
Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications,
+1-609-524-5884, ; Additional Media Contacts- In Europe- Maitland,
Brian Hudspith, +44 (0)20 7379 5151, , or In the U.S.- Russo
Partners, LLC, David Schull, +1-212-845-4271, Web site:
http://www.gpc-biotech.com/
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