Onyx Pharmaceuticals Appoints Bill Ringo to Board of Directors

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) announced today that it has named Bill Ringo to its Board of Directors. Mr. Ringo currently serves as Executive Partner at Sofinnova Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and as a Senior Advisor to Barclays Capital.

"Bill's impressive industry knowledge, commercial oncology experience and broad sector expertise will be invaluable as we look to expand our commercial presence with a potential second marketed product, carfilzomib, and continue to broaden our development pipeline," said N. Anthony Coles, M.D., president, chief executive officer and member of the board at Onyx.  

Mr. Ringo has 38 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and med-tech industries. Prior to his most recent assignments, he served as senior vice president of strategy and business development for Pfizer, retiring in 2010. He also spent 28 years at Eli Lilly & Company, serving as product group president for oncology and critical care, president of the infectious diseases business unit, vice president of sales and marketing for U.S. Pharmaceuticals, and as a member of the corporate operating committee. Mr. Ringo was the former president and chief executive officer of Abgenix, a biotechnology firm focused on developing human antibodies to treat cancer that was acquired by Amgen in April 2006. He is the current chairman of Sangamo BioSciences and serves as a director on the Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and BioCrossroads boards. Mr. Ringo holds a bachelor's degree and masters in business administration from the University of Dayton.

"It is an honor to join the Board of Directors at a time when Onyx is making the transition into a leading biotechnology company with a strong commercial presence and long-term growth opportunities through its pipeline," said Ringo. "I believe Onyx will continue to raise the bar in providing innovative and effective treatment options for cancer patients in need."

About Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of people with cancer. The company, in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., is developing and marketing Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets, a small molecule drug that is currently approved for the treatment of liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer. Additionally, Nexavar is being investigated in several ongoing trials in a variety of tumor types. Beyond Nexavar, Onyx has established a development pipeline of anticancer compounds at various stages of clinical testing, including carfilzomib, a selective proteasome inhibitor, that is currently being evaluated in multiple clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed or relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and solid tumors. ONX 0801, an alpha-folate receptor targeted inhibitor of thymidylate synthase, and ONX 0912, an oral proteasome inhibitor, are currently in Phase 1 testing. For more information about Onyx, visit the company's website at www.onyx-pharm.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Onyx, within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  These forward-looking statements include without limitation, statements regarding the expected contributions of Mr. Ringo the commercial potential of carfilzomib and Onyx's growth opportunities.  These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including risks related to the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products.  Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.  Reference should be made to Onyx's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the heading "Risk Factors" and Onyx's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for a more detailed description of such factors.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date of this release.  Onyx undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events, or circumstances after the date of this release except as required by law.

SOURCE Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.