Millennium Announces Appointments of Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations, Vice President of Finance and Several Ke
26 January 2006 - 12:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLNM) today announced Christophe
Bianchi, M.D., will join the Company as executive vice president
for commercial operations. He will also be an executive officer of
the Company and a member of the leadership team. Also announced
today is the appointment of Mark Kost as vice president, finance,
as well as the promotions of Grant Bogle, senior vice president,
sales and marketing; and Elizabeth Lewis, Esq., vice president,
commercial law. In addition, the Company has appointed Anna
Protopapas, senior vice president, corporate development, as an
executive officer and a member of the leadership team. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991220/MLNMLOGO ) "We are
excited to have Christophe join the Millennium team," said Deborah
Dunsire, M.D., president and chief executive officer. "His
experience in building commercial and sales organizations,
launching major products and delivering sustained growth is very
much aligned with the Company's goals to build a competitive
commercial organization and deliver long-term success. Also, the
appointment of Mark Kost and the promotions we announced today
reflect the growing breadth of experience and talent at Millennium,
one of the Company's greatest assets." Dr. Bianchi will join
Millennium on February 1, 2006, with 17 years of experience in the
U.S. pharmaceutical industry. He comes to the Company from
sanofi-aventis, where he led the U.S. oncology business unit, a $2
billion business with blockbuster brands such as Eloxatin(R) and
Taxotere(R). Previously, Dr. Bianchi headed sanofi's internal
medicine, central nervous system and oncology U.S. business unit,
an organization comprised of approximately 1,000 professionals with
a $1 billion profit and loss, and seven brands including Ambien(R).
Dr. Bianchi also had a successful 10-year career at Rhone-Poulenc
Rorer with positions of increasing responsibility, most recently
serving as vice president and head of global marketing. During that
period, he led many of the commercial efforts for the
market-leading antithrombotic, Lovenox(R), taking it from
pre-launch to blockbuster status. A native of France, Dr. Bianchi
is a naturalized American citizen who earned his M.D. from the
University of Reims-Champagne in France and his MBA from the
Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Joining
Millennium on February 6, 2006, is Mark Kost, as the vice president
of finance. For the past three years, Mr. Kost has served as vice
president of finance for Gillette's global technology and
manufacturing group. He was responsible for more than $4 billion in
annual spend in global manufacturing, research and development,
supply chain, new product development and engineering
organizations, as well as the global real estate portfolio. These
organizations delivered significant productivity improvements and
new products. Prior to joining Gillette, Mr. Kost held executive
finance positions at Polaroid, FosterGrant, and Pepsico, and has
more than 20 years of corporate finance experience. Grant Bogle has
been promoted to senior vice president, sales and marketing for
VELCADE(R) (bortezomib) for Injection. Since June 2005, Mr. Bogle
has been responsible for the overall marketing and sales strategy
for VELCADE and has been integral to the continued growth of the
product. He joined Millennium in 2004 as the head of sales and
marketing for INTEGRILIN(R) (eptifibatide) Injection, a product the
Company sold the development and commercial rights to
Schering-Plough in 2005. Mr. Bogle has broad sales management and
marketing experience from BASF Pharma (Knoll Pharmaceuticals) and
Roche, and hospital experience from American Critical Care and
Dupont. Prior to joining Millennium, Mr. Bogle was president of
ViaCord, the blood- banking division of ViaCell, Inc. in Boston.
Elizabeth Lewis, Esq. has been promoted to vice president,
commercial law. Ms. Lewis played a critical role in the launch of
VELCADE and has worked closely with senior leadership within the
commercial organization to support the continued growth of the
product. Ms. Lewis joined Millennium in 2002. Prior to joining
Millennium, Ms. Lewis was a partner in the firm of Epstein Becker
& Green and co-chaired the firm's pharmaceutical health
regulatory practice group. Anna Protopapas, senior vice president,
corporate development, has been appointed an executive officer and
a member of the leadership team. Since Ms. Protopapas joined
Millennium in 1997, she has led many of the Company's efforts in
strategic alliances, product acquisitions, out-licensing and new
ventures. During her tenure at Millennium, Ms. Protopapas has been
a key driver in forging partnerships that have generated
significant revenue and value for the Company, including
collaborations with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Research
and Development L.L.C., Aventis Pharmaceuticals and Abbott
Laboratories. Under her leadership, Millennium has built a strong
business development team with significant industry experience.
About VELCADE VELCADE is indicated for the treatment of multiple
myeloma patients who have received at least one prior therapy.
VELCADE is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to
bortezomib, boron, or mannitol. VELCADE should be administered
under the supervision of a physician experienced in the use of
antineoplastic therapy. Risks associated with VELCADE therapy
include new or worsening peripheral neuropathy, hypotension,
cardiac disorders, gastrointestinal adverse events,
thrombocytopenia and tumor lysis syndrome. Women of childbearing
potential should avoid becoming pregnant while being treated with
VELCADE. In 331 patients who were treated with VELCADE in a phase
III study, the most commonly reported adverse events were asthenic
conditions (61%), diarrhea (57%), nausea (57%), constipation (42%),
peripheral neuropathy (36%), vomiting (35%), pyrexia (35%),
thrombocytopenia (35%), psychiatric disorders (35%), anorexia and
appetite decreased (34%), parasthesia (27%), dysesthesia (27%),
anemia and headache (26%), and cough (21%). Fourteen percent of
patients reported at least one episode of grade 4 toxicity; the
most common grade 4 toxicities were thrombocytopenia (4%),
neutropenia (2%), and hypercalcemia (2%). A total of 144 patients
on VELCADE (44%) reported serious adverse events (SAEs) during the
study. The most commonly reported SAEs were pyrexia (6%), diarrhea
(5%), dyspnea and pneumonia (4%), and vomiting (3%). VELCADE is
being co-developed by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Johnson
& Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.
Millennium is responsible for commercialization of VELCADE in the
U.S.; Janssen-Cilag is responsible for commercialization in Europe
and the rest of the world. Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. is
responsible for commercialization in Japan. VELCADE is approved in
more than 60 countries worldwide. VELCADE is also approved in the
European Union as a second-line treatment. For more information
about VELCADE clinical trials, patients and physicians can contact
the Millennium Medical Product Information Department at
1-866-VELCADE (1-866-835-2233). About Millennium Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company based in
Cambridge, Mass., markets VELCADE, a novel cancer product, and has
a robust clinical development pipeline of product candidates. The
Company's research, development and commercialization activities
are focused in two therapeutic areas: oncology and inflammation. By
applying its knowledge of the human genome, understanding of
disease mechanisms and industrialized drug discovery platform,
Millennium is seeking to develop breakthrough products. The
Company's website is http://www.millennium.com/. This press release
contains "forward-looking statements," including statements about
the Company's growth and development of products. Various important
risks may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially
from the results indicated by these forward-looking statements,
including: adverse results in its drug discovery and clinical
development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for its
discoveries; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or
controlled by third parties; the Company's dependence upon
strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products
and services based on its work; difficulties or delays in obtaining
regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from
its development efforts; product withdrawals; competitive factors;
difficulties or delays in manufacturing the Company's products;
government and third party reimbursement rates; the commercial
success of VELCADE and INTEGRILIN(R) (eptifibatide) Injection;
achieving revenue consistent with internal forecasts; and the
requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and
development and to expand commercialization activities. For a
further list and description of the risks and uncertainties the
Company faces, see the reports it has filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward- looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Eloxatin(R), Taxotere(R), Ambien(R) and Lovenox(R) are registered
trademarks of sanofi-aventis. Editor's Note: This release is
available under the Media section on the Company's website at
http://www.millennium.com/. Contacts: Theresa McNeely (media) Kyle
Kuvalanka (investors) (617) 679-7405 (617) 761-4734 First Call
Analyst: FCMN Contact: Kelly.Hennessy@mpi.com
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991220/MLNMLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Millennium Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. CONTACT: Theresa McNeely, +1-617-679-7405, or Kyle Kuvalanka,
+1-617-761-4734, both of Millennium Web site:
http://www.millennium.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114562.html
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