Jennerex Elects Dr. Mitchell H. Gold to Board of Directors

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic virus products for cancer, today announced that Mitchell H. Gold, M.D., has joined its board of directors.  Dr. Gold is the executive chairman of Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN), the Seattle-based biotechnology company that discovered, developed, and launched a new class of therapies called active cellular immunotherapy (ACI), specifically designed to engage a patient's own immune system against cancer.  Jennerex's lead product candidate, currently enrolling patients in a Phase 2b liver cancer study, is JX-594, a proprietary, engineered oncolytic virus that is designed to selectively target and destroy cancer cells through multiple mechanisms of action.

Under Dr. Gold's leadership, Dendreon received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for  PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T) and launched the drug in April 2010.  Dr. Gold grew the company from having a market capitalization of $40 million to one of nearly $2 billion, establishing Dendreon as one of the largest biotech companies in the world.  For his contributions to science through his leadership at Dendreon, Dr. Gold was given the "Oliver R. Grace Award" by the Cancer Research Institute and was named a runner-up for "Smartest CEO" by Fortune Magazine in their "Smartest People in Tech" issue.

"We are pleased to announce today that Dr. Gold has joined our board of directors, given his leadership as president and chief executive officer of Dendreon, where he guided the clinical development, regulatory strategy, and commercial introduction of its first-in-class cancer immunotherapy.  His experience and leadership will prove invaluable as Jennerex advances toward late-stage clinical testing in cancer with our promising oncolytic virus therapy," stated Ken Newport, acting chief executive officer and board member of Jennerex.

"We welcome Mitch as our newest board member and believe that he will augment our leadership team with his multi-faceted experience across many disciplines including clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory, commercial and financing," stated Brennan Mulcahy, chairman of the board of Jennerex.  "We are at a pivotal time in the company's history and believe the relevant experience Mitch brings will serve our company well as we seek to realize our mission of bringing JX-594 to patients." 

"With the advancements we've made in the field of cancer immunotherapy, I believe that we are just getting started in making progress against the war on cancer.  Given the compelling clinical data, the innovative scientific approach, and the unmet needs, I believe that Jennerex's pioneering work may potentially introduce a novel, new approach for patients with liver cancer," stated Dr. Gold.  "I look forward to joining the board of directors in order to develop scientific innovation, help patients, and ultimately advance the war on cancer."

About Dr. Mitchell H. Gold

Dr. Mitchell H. Gold currently serves as executive chairman of Dendreon Corporation's Board of Directors.  Previously, he served as president and chief executive officer of Dendreon since 2003, as well as vice president of business development and as chief business officer when he joined Dendreon in 2001.  In April 2010 – after more than 15 years of research and development, 15 clinical trials, and more than $1 billion raised – Dendreon received approval from the FDA for the world's first autologous cellular immunotherapy, PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T).  Dr. Gold grew the company from having a market capitalization of $40 million to one of nearly $2 billion, establishing Dendreon as one of the largest biotech companies in the world.  Prior to joining Dendreon, Dr. Gold previously served as vice president of business development and vice president of sales and marketing for Data Critical Corporation, a company engaged in wireless transmission of critical healthcare data, now a division of GE Medical. Dr. Gold was the president, chief executive officer, and a co-founder of Elixis Corporation, a medical information systems company.  Dr. Gold currently serves on the board of the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Prostate Cancer Institute. Dr. Gold received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago. Dr. Gold was a resident physician in the Department of Urology at the University of Washington.

About Jennerex

Jennerex, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class, breakthrough targeted oncolytic products for cancer. The Company's lead product JX-594 is currently in an international, randomized Phase 2b clinical trial (TRAVERSE) in patients with advanced primary liver cancer who have failed sorafenib therapy. In addition, JX-594 is being tested in the same patient population in combination with sorafenib. JX-594 is also in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with treatment-refractory colorectal cancer. Published studies designed to establish optimal dose levels and the safety profile of JX-594 have shown its ability to selectively target and cause destruction of a variety of common cancer types. JX-594 and other product candidates under development are designed to attack cancer tumors through three diverse mechanisms of action: the lysis of cancer cells through viral replication, the ablation of the blood supply to tumors through vascular targeting and destruction and the stimulation of the body's immune response against the cancer. Jennerex is headquartered in San Francisco and has related research and development operations in Ottawa, Canada and Pusan, South Korea. For more information about Jennerex, please visit www.jennerex.com.

SOURCE Jennerex, Inc.