Proacta Inc, anti-cancer start up, appoints new CEO Paul Cossum.

San Francisco, 16 August 2004

Proacta Inc., an oncology drug discovery company targeting tumour hypoxia, today announced the appointment of Paul Cossum, PhD. as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr Cossum will lead the company in advancing drug candidates through pre-clinical and clinical development towards marketable pharmaceutical products.

“ Paul brings a unique set of technical expertise and management skills to take Proacta through preclinical and clinical development of our portfolio” said Brigitte Smith, current President of Proacta Inc. “We’re excited to have Paul’s extensive understanding of oncology development and prodrug pharmacology at Proacta” she said. “Paul will complement Proacta’s broad portfolio and excellent scientific team with his wealth of management experience in oncology start-ups and a deep knowledge of the industry”.

Dr. Cossum, 51, joins Proacta with 20 years of industry experience in drug development. Prior to joining Proacta he served as Executive Vice President of drug development at NewBiotics Inc. San Diego. His responsibilities at NewBiotics included all preclinical (oncology, anti-inflammatory and microbiology models, pharmacology, toxicology, drug metabolism/PK), pharmaceutical development/manufacturing, clinical, regulatory and project management activities. Before NewBiotics, he served as Vice President of preclinical research and development and business development at Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc. His responsibilities included overseeing pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology studies and analytical development for anti-cancer and anti-infective drug candidates. He worked with clinical and regulatory affairs in filing investigational new drug applications (IND) and new drug applications (NDA) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and at European health regulatory agencies. In 1995, Dr. Cossum helped coordinate the merger of Triplex Pharmaceuticals Inc. with Argus Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Oncologix Inc. to form Aronex Pharmaceuticals. From 1999 he also was responsible for business development and licensing.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Cossum was director of preclinical development at Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and a scientist at Genentech Inc. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees, and a doctorate, at the University of Tasmania in Australia

Proacta is a drug development company focusing on novel therapies for physiologically targeted therapies including hypoxic (oxygen-starved) tumours. The portfolio is based on technology from Stanford University and the University of Auckland. The company is incorporated in Delaware with preclinical operations in Auckland, Palo Alto and Melbourne.

Proacta recently raised $8M in Series A funding from an international syndicate led by GBS Venture Partners, Australia. Other members of the syndicate are Genentech Inc and Roche, based in the United States and Switzerland respectively, and No 8 Ventures and Endeavour Capital in New Zealand.

Tumour hypoxia is a condition that exists in the majority of solid tumours and makes treatment with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy less likely to succeed. Proacta has developed a unique portfolio of molecules which are selectively active in hypoxic tissue.

Proacta is developing and protecting the company’s intellectual property, hiring staff and taking new anticancer drugs into clinical trial in humans. It will undertake preclinical safety toxicology, manufacturing and formulation activities, in addition to phase I clinical trials in oncology.

The founding scientists, Professors Bill Denny and Bill Wilson at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, at The University of Auckland (ACSRC), and Professors Martin Brown and Amato Giacca at the Division of Radiation and Cancer Biology and the Department of Radiation Oncology at Stanford University, are world leading authorities in the field of tumour hypoxia.

Proacta draws on a broad portfolio of IP across 9 chemical families. Ongoing development of the portfolio is supported by significant grant funding and led by acknowledged international experts in the field at Auckland and Stanford Universities. Proacta’s strong IP and ongoing research activities in physiologically-targeted cancer therapies give it a leadership position in meeting a substantial unmet need for the large and growing oncology market.