Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Announces the Appointments of Ed Mascioli, MD to the Position of Chief Executive Officer and Robert Radie to the Board of Directors

AUSTIN, TX and TORONTO, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Affinium Pharmaceuticals announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of two senior biotech and pharmaceutical executives to its leadership team:  Ed Mascioli, M.D. is appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Mr. Robert (Bob) Radie is appointed to the Board of Directors.

Dr. Mascioli is an experienced pharmaceutical and venture executive, and held prior positions as a senior executive at Pfizer, Inc., Dapis Capital, Peptimmune, Inc. and MPM Capital.  Mr. Radie is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Egalet, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing tamper-resistant pain medicines.

"We are very pleased to welcome both of these talented executives to key leadership roles at Affinium," stated Dr. Stuart Collinson, Chairman of the Board at Affinium Pharmaceuticals.  "As we progress past the clinical proof-of-concept stage for our novel antibiotic, Dr. Mascioli and Mr. Radie bring key business development expertise to our current discussions with potential partners."

About Staphylococcal Infections

Staphylococcus is the mostly commonly identified bacterial pathogen in humans and is a potential pathogen in almost every type of bacterial infection.  Methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus (MRSA) account for about half of all S. aureus strains in the US and causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide.  According to the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), MRSA kills more Americans every year then emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's Disease and homicide combined.¹

About AFN-1252

AFN-1252 is the lead clinical-stage agent in a new class of antibiotics based on FabI inhibition.

Due to its unique, staphylococcal-specific spectrum, AFN-1252 is expected to have no off-target side effects, such as antibiotic-induced diarrhea or C. difficile overgrowth, and no resistance pressure on other bacteria; consequently, the development of multiply-drug-resistant organisms like vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is unlikely.  AFN-1252 is 10-20 times more potent than linezolid in animal models of infection, and is exquisitely potent against all strains of Staphylococcus, including all known resistant strains such as MRSA and vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA).  AFN-1252 has the potential to be used either as monotherapy for confirmed staphylococcal infections or in combination when MRSA is suspected in a variety of infections.  Both oral and IV formulations are in development.

About Affinium Pharmaceuticals

Affinium Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel anti-infective medicines based on bacterial fatty acid inhibition.  This antibacterial program constitutes a new antibiotic platform with the potential for multiple patented products targeting the FabI target in several different bacterial species.

For more information, please see our website at: www.afnm.com

SOURCE Affinium Pharmaceuticals