Roger J Garceau joins Fluorinov board, adds clinical expertise to bromodomain program and oncology pipeline

TORONTO, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Fluorinov Pharma (Fluorinov), a FACIT portfolio company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Roger J Garceau, to its Board of Directors. With extensive experience guiding biotech companies in matters including corporate development and clinical strategy, his appointment strengthens Fluorinov's leadership team and adds significant regulatory expertise as Fluorinov transitions to clinical development. 

Dr. Garceau brings 30 years of pharmaceutical development experience to Fluorinov and most recently led NPS Pharmaceuticals' (NPS) successful orphan products – including GATTEX® and NATPARA®– through regulatory filings, advisory committee reviews, registrations and approvals by the FDA and other health authorities. In addition to his position as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at NPS, which was recently successfully acquired by Shire plc, Dr. Garceau has previously held executive clinical and development roles at Sanofi-Aventis, Aventis and Pharmacia-Upjohn (Pfizer). 

"We are delighted to welcome Roger to the Board of Directors," said Jim Groninger, Board Director at Fluorinov and former Board Director at NPS Pharmaceuticals.  "His rich talent and experience in developing breakthrough medicines for patients will be brought to bear on Fluorinov's proprietary small molecule chemistry and pipeline of medicines for brain cancer, hematological malignancies and solid tumors."

"Fluorinov's rapid clinical candidate-generating platform is beginning to have a broad impact on small molecule medicines, ranging from highly selective and potent BRD4 drug candidates to additional compelling pipeline compounds that penetrate the blood brain barrier" remarked Dr. Garceau. "I look forward to working alongside the Board and management team to help Fluorinov accelerate the clinical and commercial development of its lead assets as they bring significant benefit to patients with cancer."

"While our technology platform is generating candidate drugs with unprecedented profiles, and also has the potential to resolve a number of longstanding challenges for small molecule drug discovery, Dr. Garceau's experience and guidance will be key to identifying the patients most likely to benefit and unlocking the full clinical potential of the Fluorinov pipeline," said Dr. Malik Slassi, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Fluorinov.  "We appreciate Roger's commitment to the company as an important part of our strategy to move Fluorinov to the next stage in building an integrated discovery and development organization."

Dr. Garceau is a Board certified pediatrician with experience in multiple successful FDA Advisory Committee meetings, EU Scientific advice and PDMA meetings.  He has broad experience in drugs, biologics and combination drug/device products, orphan and non-orphan indications in the US and Internationally. He has also successfully built development and medical organizations from the inception to multinational structures.

About FACIT
FACIT is an independent business trust established by OICR to undertake development and commercialization activities related to cancer research, products and drug discovery. For more information, please visit the website at facit.ca or email [email protected].       

About Fluorinov Pharma
The incorporation of fluorine into drug structures can improve potency, stability and safety, and other critical drug attributes.  Innovative breakthroughs by Fluorinov Pharma enable fluorine chemical synthesis never before possible and have the potential to transform promising compounds into superior clinical new chemical entities. Fluorinov has a deep portfolio of potential best-in-class oncology drug candidates with attractive therapeutic profiles including oral therapies targeting the proteosome, bromodomains, survivin, PD1 and the blood-brain barrier. Visit www.fluorinovpharma.com

SOURCE Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust

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