CRANBURY, N.J., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PTN) today announced the appointment of Jeffrey D. Edelson, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Edelson has more than 15 years of leadership experience in the successful clinical development of medicines for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Dr. Edelson has been responsible for numerous clinical development programs and strategies focused on pulmonary, allergy, immunology, critical care, oncology, and supportive care targets.
“Dr. Edelson has a unique combination of medical, clinical drug development, and regulatory experience,” said Carl Spana, Ph.D., Palatin’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe leveraging Jeff’s extensive experience and success in designing and managing clinical programs will contribute significantly to our goal of advancing our two Phase 2 clinical candidates through the development and commercialization process.”
“I am excited to join Palatin and look forward to putting my scientific and clinical experience to work on advancing this interesting clinical pipeline,” said Dr. Edelson. “This is a great chance to get involved at this stage of clinical trials, with one program, bremelanotide, that has the potential to become the first FDA approved therapy for female sexual dysfunction, and another program, PL-3994, a compound with a novel mechanism of action for several pulmonary targets, with an initial indication for treatment of acute severe asthma.”
A pulmonary and critical care physician, Dr. Edelson was previously Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer of Ikano Therapeutics Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company. Prior to that, he was Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head of Novel Therapeutics for Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. He is also the Principal of Aequanimitas Consulting LLC, and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Trevor Hallam has notified the Company of his resignation as Executive Vice President of Research and Development, effective December 31, 2010. Dr. Hallam’s departure is a result of Palatin’s decision last quarter to eliminate research and discovery activities, and focus on advancing its Phase 2 clinical candidates.
“During his years with Palatin, Dr. Hallam drew on his considerable expertise in pharmaceutical research and development to make significant contributions to the advancement of our product pipeline,” said Dr. Spana. “We are grateful for Dr. Hallam’s efforts and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
About Palatin Technologies, Inc.
Palatin Technologies, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of peptide, peptide mimetic and small molecule agonists with a focus on melanocortin and natriuretic peptide receptor systems. Palatin’s strategy is to develop products and then form marketing collaborations with industry leaders in order to maximize their commercial potential. For additional information regarding Palatin, please visit Palatin Technologies’ website at www.palatin.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements about clinical trials programs and plans and other future expectations of Palatin Technologies, Inc., are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Palatin intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause Palatin’s actual results to be materially different from its historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Palatin’s actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements for reasons including, but not limited to, results of clinical trials, regulatory actions by the FDA and the need for regulatory approvals, Palatin’s ability to fund development of its technology and establish and successfully complete clinical trials, the length of time and cost required to complete clinical trials and submit applications for regulatory approvals, products developed by competing pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, commercial acceptance of Palatin’s products, and other factors discussed in Palatin’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Palatin is not responsible for updating for events that occur after the date of this press release.
SOURCE Palatin Technologies, Inc.