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Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer
Announces Appointment of Maurizio Voi, M.D.
as Chief Medical and Chief Development Officer
- Dr. Voi brings over 20 years of broad industry experience including
development of XALKORI (crizotinib), Erbitux (cetuximab),
Sprycel (dasatinib) and Gemzar (gemcitabine for injection) -
LEXINGTON, Mass. November 8, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a drug development company seeking to develop next generation
targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced the appointment of Maurizio Voi, M.D., as Chief Medical and Chief Development Officer. Dr. Voi will be responsible for the Company s development, clinical trial
and regulatory affairs operations, as well as biomarker and translational medicine activities.
Dr. Voi brings to Curis significant
experience in targeted oncology drug development, most recently as Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for the Oncology Business Unit at Pfizer s Global Research and Development site in New York. Dr. Voi joined
Pfizer in 2009 as Thoracic Tumor Strategy Team Leader for Oncology. In this role, he was responsible for developing strategic plans for assets within the Pfizer portfolio for the treatment of thoracic cancers, with a special emphasis on
identifying patient populations most likely to respond to targeted agents by concurrently developing compounds and diagnostics, including XALKORI (crizotinib), an ALK inhibitor for the treatment of ALK+ advanced non-small cell lung cancer that
was granted FDA approval earlier this year.
We look forward to benefitting from Maurizio s depth and breadth of oncology product
development experience as we seek to advance the development of our proprietary cancer drug candidates including CUDC-101, our first-in-class small molecule inhibitor of EGFR, Her2 and HDAC, CUDC-907, our dual PI3 kinase and HDAC inhibitor that is
approaching clinical development, as well as our earlier-stage product candidates, said Dan Passeri, chief executive officer of Curis. We anticipate that his in-depth experience with the development of several approved targeted cancer
agents and understanding of
the importance of translational medicine and molecular biology in current cancer treatments, combined with his U.S. and international experience, will greatly strengthen our management team and
enhance our capabilities.
I am excited about working with Curis promising pipeline of cancer drug candidates, said
Dr. Voi. These novel oncology therapeutics are all based on Curis proven chemistry capabilities and expertise in cancer pathway network biology. I am looking forward to working with the Curis team to drive the development-stage
assets in clinical testing as well as to working closely with the research team in its efforts to generate additional novel molecules for cancer.
Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Voi served from 1998 to 2009 in several key positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, most recently as the Executive Director, Global Clinical Development and Medical
Affairs, Oncology, where he was instrumental in the development and regulatory submission and approval of Sprycel in chronic myelogenous leukemia as well as in supplemental BLA s of Erbitux in colorectal, non-small cell lung and head
and neck cancers. From 1987-1998, he served in several roles at Eli Lilly and Company, where he was involved in preparing the registration dossier for a regulatory approval filing in non-small cell lung cancer of Gemzar in Europe as well as
ultimately assuming responsibility for Gemzar worldwide development and commercialization.
Dr. Voi has extensive regulatory
experience working with the FDA s Oncology Division, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and numerous other health authorities. He has been responsible for U.S. and European clinical and regulatory activities and is well networked with key
opinion leaders in cancer. He received his medical degree from the University of Padua, School of Medicine Italy and practiced medicine at the General Hospital, Dolo in Venice, Italy.
Curis is a drug development company that is committed to leveraging its
innovative signaling pathway drug technologies to seek to create new targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer. Curis is building upon its previous experiences in targeting signaling pathways, including the Hedgehog pathway, in its effort
to develop proprietary targeted cancer programs. For more information, visit Curis website at www.curis.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including without limitation statements regarding: the expected benefits of the Company s appointment of Dr. Voi as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Development Officer. Forward-looking statements used in this press release may
contain the words believes , expects , anticipates , plans , seeks , estimates , assumes , will , may, could or similar expressions.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements, including without limitation the risk factors described by the Company in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 and other
filings that it periodically makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the views of Curis only as of today and should not be
relied upon as representing Curis views as of any subsequent date. Curis disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.