Nov. 6, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Regulatory News:
EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq and OMX Nordic Exchange: EPCT) today announced that it has appointed Bernard R. Tyrrell as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, a newly created position. Mr. Tyrrell joins EpiCept with a wealth of experience in pharmaceutical marketing and business development, both in the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, he led the Oncology Division of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bernie to our management team, and the creation of this new position supports our transition to a commercial entity,” stated Jack Talley, President and Chief Executive Officer of EpiCept. “Bernie’s long and successful track record in oncology product commercialization will be a tremendous asset to EpiCept, particularly as we advance our commercialization strategy for Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride) in the U.S. and other key markets.”
While at Otsuka America, Mr. Tyrrell was among those responsible for developing a world-class oncology division in North America and drove early brand accomplishments.
During his career, Mr. Tyrrell’s responsibilities included commercializing new and existing brands at such leading pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Europe as Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. While at AstraZeneca, Mr. Tyrrell spearheaded a group of 90 marketing professionals that drove the sales of six oncology and infection brands by $2 billion.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Tyrrell said, “I am very excited to begin my work by helping to commercialize Ceplene® for people suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. I am looking forward to working with the EpiCept team and with our future marketing partners to maximize the sales of this drug.”
About EpiCept Corporation
EpiCept is focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of cancer and pain. The Company's lead product is Ceplene®, which has been granted full marketing authorization by the European Commission for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse in adult patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. The Company has two oncology drug candidates currently in clinical development that were discovered using in-house technology and have been shown to act as vascular disruption agents in a variety of solid tumors. The Company's pain portfolio includes EpiCept™ NP-1, a prescription topical analgesic cream in late-stage clinical development designed to provide effective long-term relief of pain associated with peripheral neuropathies.
