- Mr. Kapur joins Actinium with more than two decades of biopharmaceutical commercial experience at Johnson & Johnson, BAXALTA and Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Global leader with deep expertise in Oncology Marketing & Sales, who had a pivotal role in the successful launch and growth of multiple blockbuster hematology products including IMBRUVICA®, DARZALEX®, and VELCADE®.
NEW YORK, Feb. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American:ATNM) ("Actinium" or "the Company") announced, effective today, that Anil Kapur has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer. Anil joins Actinium with significant and diverse Oncology commercial leadership experiences at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Baxalta, and most recently at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Anil will be responsible for building the commercial capabilities at Actinium in anticipation of launching Iomab-B and Actimab-MDS, the Company’s current programs that are intended to improve bone marrow transplant access and outcomes through improved myeloablation. Iomab-B is currently enrolling patients in a pivotal Phase 3 trial and Actimab-MDS is expected to begin a Phase 2 trial in mid-2018. Actinium is focused on being the leading company focused on myeloablation with the only multi-product, multi-disease pipeline that has the potential to improve access to bone marrow transplant and improve outcomes. Mr. Kapur will report to Sandesh Seth, Actinium’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
As an accomplished commercial leader, Mr. Kapur brings to Actinium a proven track record of delivering strong commercial results. At Johnson & Johnson, Anil culminated his 15-year tenure serving as Vice President, Commercial Leader, Hematology Franchise, within the Global Commercial Strategy Organization where he launched transformational block-buster products IMBRUVICA®, and DARZALEX®. At Baxalta, Anil served as Vice President, Global Head of Commercial and Portfolio Strategy, Oncology Division shortly after the Company was created until its acquisition by Shire in 2016. Most recently, Anil worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb as Vice President, Head of Early Assets, Biomarkers & External Innovation, Worldwide Oncology Commercialization.
“It is a privilege to join Actinium’s executive management team at this exciting time to advance the company’s mission to transform outcomes for patients through improved myeloablation resulting in expanded transplant access and better outcomes,” said Anil Kapur. “I have been following the progress of the Iomab-B SIERRA trial closely and am excited by the trial accrual at top transplant centers and the development of an exoskeleton of a commercial supply chain. The addition of Actimab-MDS to Actinium’s pipeline bolsters the Company’s opportunity to capitalize on the concentrated bone marrow transplant market. I look forward to building on these great efforts to ensure Actinium’s success in becoming the leading company focused on myeloablation.”
Sandesh Seth, Actinium’s Chairman and CEO said, “I am delighted to welcome Anil to Actinium and look forward to working with him and the rest of our team to build an independent, commercial organization that leads the field of myeloablation. Anil’s experiences in successfully launching and growing blockbuster Oncology products, leading sales teams and shaping global marketing, access and pricing strategies is particularly well suited for Actinium and our strategy as the company progresses towards the launch of Iomab-B and Actimab-MDS in the bone marrow transplant market with the goal of improving myeloablation.”
Anil joins Actinium from BMS, where he was the Vice President, Head of Early Assets, Biomarkers & External Innovation within the Worldwide Oncology Commercialization organization and helped advance the company’s leading Immuno-Oncology portfolio. Prior to this position, Anil was the Vice President & Global Head, Oncology Commercial Portfolio & Product Strategy at Baxalta and a member of the Oncology Leadership Team. In this role, Anil also led the Joint Strategic Committees responsible for advancing the early Immuno-Oncology partnerships with Symphogen and the allogeneic CAR-T partnership with Precision Bio-Sciences.
Anil built a distinguished career spanning 15 years at Johnson & Johnson where in his last role, he served as the Vice President, Commercial Leader for the Hematology Franchise with responsibility for the development and execution of global commercial strategy and launch plans for all Hematology in-market, late-stage development, and early pipeline assets. He is credited with significantly shaping the clinical development plans and successful launch and growth of multiple Oncology blockbuster products including IMBRUVICA®, DARZALEX®, and VELCADE®.
At J&J, he led the IMBRUVICA® Joint Commercial Committee (JCC), established between J&J and Pharmacyclics, and built and led the global team that launched DARZALEX®, the first biologic for Multiple Myeloma. Anil also held leadership roles of increasing complexity and responsibility in US Marketing, US Regional Sales, and within the Asia-Pacific Regional Oncology organization covering 14 markets including Japan, China, Australia and Korea.
Anil has an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, a MS in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana Tech University, and a Bachelor of Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, India.
About Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing targeted therapies for potentially superior myeloablation and conditioning of the bone marrow prior to a bone marrow transplant and for the targeting and killing of cancer cells. Our targeted therapies have demonstrated the potential to result in significantly improved access to bone marrow transplant with better outcomes, namely increased marrow engraftment and survival. Our targeted therapies are ARC’s or Antibody Radio-Conjugates that combine the targeting ability of monoclonal antibodies with the cell killing ability of radioisotopes. Three of our four ARC drug candidates are based on our AWE or Actinium Warhead Enabling Technology Platform that utilizes the isotope Actinium-225 (Ac225) that emits alpha particles. We are currently conducting clinical trials for our four product candidates; Iomab-B, Actimab-A Actimab-M and Actimab-MDS, as well as performing research on other potential drug candidates utilizing our proprietary AWE Technology Platform. Our most advanced product candidate, Iomab-B, an ARC developed by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is comprised of an anti-CD45 monoclonal antibody labeled with iodine-131. We are currently conducting a pivotal Phase 3 trial of Iomab-B for myeloablation and conditioning of the bone marrow prior to a bone marrow transplant for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) age 55 and older. A bone marrow transplant is a potentially curative treatment for patients with AML and other blood cancers including leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma as well as certain blood disorders. Iomab-B has been tested in several of these other cancers with over five hundred patients treated in several Phase 1 and 2 trials with promising results. Upon successful completion of our Phase 3 clinical trial for Iomab-B we intend to submit this candidate for marketing approval in the U.S. and European Union where it has been designated as an Orphan Drug. We are also developing a potentially best in class CD33 program using an ARC comprised of the anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody lintuzumab labeled with the alpha-particle emitter actinium-225. Our most advanced CD33 program candidate, Actimab-A, is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial for patients advanced over the age of 60 who are newly diagnosed with AML and ineligible for standard induction chemotherapy. Actimab-A also has Orphan Drug designation in the US and EU. Actimab-M, our second CD33 targeting ARC, is being studied in a Phase 1 trial for patients with refractory multiple myeloma. Actinium is also planning a Phase 2 trial for Actimab-MDS, our third CD33 program candidate, as a conditioning regimen prior to a bone marrow transplant for patients with MDS that have a p53 genetic mutation. Our AWE or Actinium Warhead Enabling Technology Platform, originally developed in conjunction with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is focused on leveraging Actinium’s know how and intellectual property to create additional ARC drug candidates by labeling Ac225 to targeting moieties that we will either progress in clinical trials ourselves or out-license.
More information is available at www.actiniumpharma.com and our Twitter feed @ActiniumPharma, www.twitter.com/actiniumpharma.
About Our Actinium Warhead Enabling Technology Platform
The Actinium Warhead Enabling (AWE) Technology Platform enables a highly potent and selective form of targeted therapy that combines the powerful alpha-emitting radioisotope actinium-225 with targeting agents which are designed to seek out cancer cells in the body that express particular markers. Actinium-225 emits significant alpha radiation making it a potent treatment modality against targeted cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissues as its radiation travels extremely short distances in the body. When labeled to targeting agents, actinium-225 can be delivered directly to cancer cells where the high linear energy transfer resulting from the emission of alpha particles results in irreparable DNA double stranded breaks and ultimately cancer cell death. Despite this superior cell killing power, actinium-225 when delivered in a targeted manner is sparing of the surrounding environment in the body due to the short path length of its alpha-particle radiation and can result in a superior safety profile. Actinium Pharmaceuticals owns or has licensed the rights to several issued and pending patents that pertain to its AWE Technology Platform including technology to manufacture actinium-225 in a cyclotron. In addition, the Company has developed considerable know-how, expertise and validated processes related to production of Antibody Radio-Conjugates or ARC’s, management of the supply chain, and dealing with various regulatory bodies. The AWE Technology Platform can be utilized to potentially improve the cell-killing power of targeting agents such as antibodies, peptides, Fab fragments, nanobodies etc. via labeling with actinium-225. In addition to increased efficacy, these actinium-225 enhanced targeting agents can offer optimized dosing or administration and in the case of approved targeting agents provide an opportunity to extend intellectual property protection by the creation of biobetters or improved versions of the approved agent. The Company’s Actinium Warhead Enabling (AWE) Program can be accessed by biopharmaceutical companies that are interested in creating biobetters through the utilization of the AWE Platform Technology. To learn more about the AWE Technology Platform or the AWE Program please contact Keisha Thomas, Ph.D., Corporate Development at kthomas@actiniumpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements for Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential, or financial performance. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Actinium Pharmaceuticals undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Contact:
Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Steve O'Loughlin
Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development
soloughlin@actiniumpharma.com
Investor Relations
Marek Ciszewski, J.D.
949.574.3860
ATNM@liolios.com