Tokalas appoints James B. Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., President & CEO

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Tokalas, Inc., announced today the appointment of James B. Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D. to the position of President & Chief Executive Officer and Board member of the company.  Dr. Breitmeyer, a Board certified Medical Oncologist, has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as President of Bavarian Nordic, Inc. and Executive Vice President of Bavarian Nordic A/S, where he was responsible for securing a $975 MM immuno-oncology commercialization partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb. He held executive leadership positions at Zogenix Inc., where he remains a Director, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Mallinkrodt), Applied Molecular Evolution (acquired by Eli Lilly and Company), Serono Laboratories (acquired by Merck KGaA 9/2006), and was the founding President and CEO of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute.  He has led efforts resulting in eight FDA and/or international product approvals including Zohydro^®, Ofirmev^®, Rebif^®, Saizen^®, Geref^®, Serostim^®, Fertinex^®, and Gonal-F^®.   

Scott L. Glenn, Tokalas' Chairman, expressed his excitement at Dr. Breitmeyer's appointment, saying "Jim is a very experienced executive with a strong clinical development and scientific background.  He is an excellent choice to lead Tokalas as the company transitions from the discovery stage into clinical development.  Jim's broad understanding of the oncology landscape will be vital, not only to expand indications for Tokalas' lead asset, but also as the company looks ahead at additional programs."

About Tokalas, Inc.

Tokalas Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a novel, first-in-class ets-family transcription factor inhibitor for the treatment of cancer. The Tokalas team has advanced its lead compound through pre-clinical development and will initiate clinical trials in Ewing Sarcoma in late 2015/ early 2016. Following Phase I, Tokalas will conduct a Phase Ib in Ewing Sarcoma with the goal of advancing to a Phase II registration study. The Company believes that the initial indication in Ewing Sarcoma will qualify for the Pediatric Rare Disease voucher. In parallel, Tokalas will pursue initial studies in GBM, AML and CR prostate cancer.

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SOURCE Tokalas, Inc.