Aragon Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Faheem Hasnain as Independent Director

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aragon Pharmaceuticals today announced the appointment of Faheem Hasnain as an independent director of the Company's board of directors.

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Mr. Hasnain brings more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with executive leadership roles at leading public companies, including Facet Biotech Corporation, PDL BioPharma, Biogen Idec, Bristol Myers-Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline.

"Faheem's expansive commercialization, leadership and public as well as private company experience will prove invaluable to Aragon as we work to advance our programs targeting hormone dependent cancers, including ARN-509, an anti-androgen for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer that is progressing toward registration-enabling trials next year," said Richard A. Heyman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Aragon.

"The team at Aragon Pharmaceuticals has pioneered a very promising small molecule discovery platform for anti-hormonal agents, and I look forward to being involved in their future development efforts as they continue to advance in this promising field," said Mr. Hasnain.

Hasnain currently serves as President and CEO of Receptos, Inc. and is a previous President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Facet Biotech Corporation, which was sold to Abbot Laboratories for over $700 million in April 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Hasnain was President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of PDL BioPharma, Inc. Mr. Hasnain served at Biogen Idec Inc. as Executive Vice President in charge of the oncology/rheumatology strategic business unit. He also held roles with Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was president of the Oncology Therapeutics Network, and for 14 years at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor organizations. Hasnain is Chairman of the board of Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Sente, Inc. and serves on the board of directors of Somaxon Pharmaceuticals. He received a B.H.K. and B.Ed. from the University of Windsor Ontario in Canada.

About Aragon Pharmaceuticals

Aragon Pharmaceuticals is focused on the development of second generation anti-hormonal agents for hormone-driven cancers. The company's portfolio of small molecule therapeutics is based upon pioneering research identifying key molecular events that lead to drug resistance to traditional anti-hormonal therapies. This work has broad implications for the development of breakthrough medicines for prostate cancer and other hormone-dependent cancers such as breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer. Aragon Pharmaceuticals' most advanced compound, ARN-509, is an androgen receptor antagonist that is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 trial in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer. In addition, Aragon Pharmaceuticals has a selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) for hormone-sensitive and hormone-resistant estrogen receptor positive breast cancer targeted to begin clinical trials in 2013. Aragon is a private company founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.aragonpharm.com.

SOURCE Aragon Pharmaceuticals