Basking Ridge, N.J., April 26, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- VioQuest Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:VQPH), a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing targeted cancer compounds, has appointed two members to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Kenneth F. King, Ph.D, is currently Managing Partner of Clementi-King, Ltd., a worldwide regulatory consulting firm that specializes in assisting small to medium-size firms in the development of international regulatory strategies for local implementation. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Development, and Director of U.S. Regulatory Affairs, at Pfizer Global Research and Development, where he was responsible for the global registration strategies of all human pharmaceutical products, as well as their implementation at three Research and Development sites in the United States. Dr. King received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois, and brings more than 30 years of technical and business-management experience in pharmaceutical research and development.
Dr. Webster K. Cavenee, Ph.D., has spent over 25 years in the cancer research arena, and is currently serving as Director of the San Diego branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, as well as Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, where he was recently granted an Award for Research Excellence. Previously, Dr. Cavenee served as Director of the Montreal Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. He received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Kansas Medical School, respectively.
"It is an honor to have each of these key opinion leaders join our Scientific Advisory Board," said Daniel Greenleaf, president and CEO of VioQuest. "While the knowledge and experience they bring to VioQuest's SAB is substantial in its own right, together they provide a tremendous body of expertise that will prove invaluable as we move forward with our targeted cancer therapeutic drug development programs."
About VioQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
VioQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquires, develops and commercializes targeted late preclinical and early clinical stage therapies with unique mechanisms of action for oncology, viral and autoimmune disorders. A leader in personalized therapeutics, VioQuest has two targeted therapeutics in clinical trials: VQD-001, an inhibitor of specific protein tyrosine phosphatases, as well as an immune potentiator, has shown compelling preclinical activity in both renal and melanoma cancers, and VQD-002, which has been shown to inhibit the phosphorylation of Akt which is overexpressed in many ovarian, colorectal, breast, pancreatic cancers and in leukemia.
VioQuest's subsidiary Chiral Quest, a pioneer in asymmetric chemocatalysis and custom synthesis, offers its proprietary technology products and services to well-known pharmaceutical and fine chemical companies worldwide to improve their production efficiencies and, in some instances, to increase the overall safety and efficacy of the underlying drug. For more information please visit www.vioquestpharm.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VioQuest's actual results and experiences to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from these statements. Among other things, there can be no assurances that any of VioQuest's research programs and compounds will be successfully commercialized. Other risks and uncertainties that affect forward-looking statements contained in this press release include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products may not develop as expected; that development of our product candidates may not proceed as planned, the possibility of being unable to obtain regulatory approval of VioQuest's product candidates, the risk that the results of clinical trials may not support VioQuest's claims, and risks related to VioQuest's ability to protect its intellectual property and its reliance on third parties to develop its product candidates. Additional risks are described in VioQuest's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2005. VioQuest assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.