NEWTOWN, Pa., Dec. 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:ONTX) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, will be hosting an investor and analyst event on Thursday, December 19, 2013, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm ET in New York, NY. The meeting will focus on the treatment landscape of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and the development of Onconova's most advanced product candidate, rigosertib, as a novel treatment for MDS and other cancers. The event will feature presentations by leading experts in the fields of oncology and hematology and Onconova management.

Experts will include:

• Jerome Groopman, M.D., the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
   
• James F. Holland, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Lasker Award winner for contributions to the cure of childhood leukemias
   
• Jimmie C. Holland, M.D., Wayne E. Chapman Chair in Psychiatric Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; pioneer in assessing quality of life measures in clinical trials
   
• Azra Raza, M.D., Director of the MDS Center at Columbia University
   
• E. Premkumar Reddy, Ph.D., Professor of Oncological Sciences and Structural and Chemical Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Scientific Founder of Onconova
   
• Lewis R. Silverman, M.D., Associate Professor Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Assistant Professor Oncological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
   
• Alan Williamson, Ph.D., Chairman of the Onconova Therapeutics Clinical Advisory Board

The event is open to members of the professional investment community. For more information on attending please contact Michaela Parnell at mparnell@macbiocom.com.

The event audio and slide presentation will be webcast live on the Company's website, www.onconova.com, on the Events & Presentations page under the Investors and Media tab.

About Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.

Onconova Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer. Onconova's clinical and pre-clinical stage drug development candidates are derived from its extensive chemical library and are designed to work against specific cellular pathways that are important in cancer cells, while causing minimal damage to normal cells. In addition to rigosertib, the Company's most advanced product candidate, two other candidates are in clinical trials, and several candidates are in pre-clinical stages. For more information, please visit http://www.onconova.com.