RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Sept. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:FENC; TSX: FRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of PEDMARK for the prevention of platinum-induced ototoxicity in pediatric patients, today announced that it has appointed Shubh Goel as chief commercial officer. In this newly created position, Ms. Goel will build and oversee Fennec’s commercial strategy and organization, including the launch and commercialization of PEDMARK™, if approved.
“We are excited to have Shubh join Fennec as she brings significant commercial and oncology experience in the U.S. and globally,” said Rosty Raykov, chief executive officer of Fennec. “Her proven track record of developing and executing commercialization plans will be instrumental in the preparation of our pre-commercial activities for PEDMARK™.”
“I am thrilled to join Fennec at such a transformative moment, as we prepare for the potential commercial launch of PEDMARK,” said Ms. Goel. “Throughout my career, I have worked to improve care for patients with unmet medical needs and I am excited to join a company that shares my commitment as we work to make available a new standard of care in pediatric oncology with PEDMARK.”
Ms. Goel is a proven leader with nearly 20 years of global commercial experience successfully building and executing the launch of several oncology products. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Operations at Odonate Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Odonate, Ms. Goel previously served in multiple leadership positions at Celgene Corporation, including serving as Executive Director, Global Early Commercialization and previously as Head of U.S. Marketing, Oncology. While at Celgene, she oversaw the successful execution of the U.S. launch of Abraxane® in pancreatic cancer and had overall responsibility for marketing the U.S. solid tumor franchise.
Prior to her time at Celgene, Ms. Goel served as Head of Global Launch Team at Bayer AG where she managed a franchise of almost $2 billion in enterprise value, had responsibility for global commercial brand and launch strategy, and managed a global marketing team. During her career, she has also held leadership roles at Aveo Oncology, and marketing roles at Ariad Pharmaceuticals and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Goel received a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry from the University of Bath.
About PEDMARK™ (Sodium Thiosulfate (STS))
Cisplatin and other platinum compounds are essential chemotherapeutic components for many pediatric malignancies. Unfortunately, platinum-based therapies cause ototoxicity in many patients, and are particularly harmful to the survivors of pediatric cancer.
In the U.S. and Europe there is estimated that over 10,000 children may receive platinum-based chemotherapy. The incidence of hearing loss in these children depends upon the dose and duration of chemotherapy, and many of these children require lifelong hearing aids. There is currently no established preventive agent for this hearing loss and only expensive, technically difficult and sub-optimal cochlear (inner ear) implants have been shown to provide some benefit. Infants and young children at critical stages of development lack speech language development and literacy, and older children and adolescents lack social-emotional development and educational achievement.
STS has been studied by cooperative groups in two Phase 3 clinical studies of survival and reduction of ototoxicity, The Clinical Oncology Group Protocol ACCL0431 and SIOPEL 6. Both studies are completed. The COG ACCL0431 protocol enrolled one of five childhood cancers typically treated with intensive cisplatin therapy for localized and disseminated disease, including newly diagnosed hepatoblastoma, germ cell tumor, osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, and medulloblastoma. SIOPEL 6 enrolled only hepatoblastoma patients with localized tumors.
About Fennec Pharmaceuticals
Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc., is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) for the prevention of platinum-induced ototoxicity in pediatric patients. Fennec initiated a rolling New Drug Application (NDA) for PEDMARK™ for the prevention of ototoxicity induced by cisplatin chemotherapy patients 1 month to < 18 years of age with localized, non-metastatic, solid tumors in December 2018. The Company is targeting completing the NDA submission in early 2020 with potential first commercial launch of PEDMARK™ in the second half of 2020. Further, PEDMARK™ received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designation by the FDA in March 2018. Fennec has a license agreement with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) for exclusive worldwide license rights to intellectual property directed to STS and its use for chemoprotection, including the prevention of ototoxicity induced by platinum chemotherapy, in humans. For more information, please visit www.fennecpharma.com.
