ProNAi Appoints Dr. Barbara Klencke as Chief Development Officer

VANCOUVER, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - ProNAi Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company pioneering a novel class of therapeutics based on its proprietary DNAi technology platform, today announced that it has appointed Dr. Barbara Klencke, M.D., as Chief Development Officer. Dr. Klencke is an accomplished oncology drug developer with a demonstrable track record of success, having made substantial contributions to the development and approval of numerous significant oncology products, including Kyprolis, Kadcyla, Avastin and Tarceva.

"Barbara has extensive experience leading the strategic development of novel oncology compounds and advancing these products successfully through the registration process," said Dr. Nick Glover, President and CEO of ProNAi Therapeutics. "Our ability to attract such a highly-respected strategic drug development expert as Dr. Klencke reflects the scope of the opportunity for our lead DNAi-based cancer drug, PNT2258, and for the broader potential of the DNAi technology platform underlying our novel approach to treating cancer."

Previously, Dr. Klencke served as the Senior Vice President, Development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Amgen Inc., from January 2011 to June 2015, and prior to that was the Group Medical Director in Product Development, Oncology at Genentech, Inc., having joined the company in July 2003. In this period, she led a variety of oncology programs including those for Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), Avastin (bevacizumab), and Tarceva (erlotinib). Prior to that, Dr. Klencke served as the Medical Director at Chiron Corporation, a biotechnology company later acquired by Novartis International AG, and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. Dr. Klencke holds a B.S. from Indiana University and an M.D. from the University of California, Davis.

"Of the many oncology programs I've been involved with, ProNAi's lead therapeutic targeting BCL2 stands out as a novel and compelling product candidate with the potential to impact a wide range of cancers," added Dr. Klencke. "I've also been highly impressed by the quality of the team ProNAi has assembled to advance PNT2258, and I am committed to working closely with them to drive this program forward."

About ProNAi Therapeutics
ProNAi Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company pioneering a novel class of therapeutics based on its proprietary DNAi technology platform for patients with cancer and hematological diseases. ProNAi's lead DNAi product candidate, PNT2258, is designed to treat cancers that overexpress BCL2, an important and validated oncogene known to be dysregulated in many types of cancer. ProNAi is pursuing a multi-faceted clinical development strategy designed to efficiently achieve regulatory approval and maximize the commercial opportunity of PNT2258. ProNAi recently initiated "Wolverine", a Phase 2 trial evaluating PNT2258 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. For more information, please visit www.pronai.com.

SOURCE ProNAi Therapeutics Inc.