SAN DIEGO, Sept. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tocagen Inc.
(Nasdaq: TOCA), a clinical-stage, cancer-selective gene therapy
company, today announced the appointment of Mohamed Ladha as vice president, head of
commercial. Mr. Ladha will build, oversee and execute the global
commercial strategies for Tocagen's oncology products upon
regulatory approval in the United
States and other key markets.
"Mohamed's extensive experience and successful track record in
developing and commercializing oncology products such as Temodar®
for brain cancer will be invaluable as we advance towards the
potential global commercialization of Toca 511 & Toca FC," said
Marty Duvall, chief executive
officer of Tocagen.
Mr. Ladha has over 23 years of experience in the fields of
oncology and immunology including leading product development and
marketing teams at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He
has commercialized eight products for a variety of oncology
indications, including TEMODAR® (temozolomide,
Schering-Plough/Merck) for glioblastoma, OncoTICE® (BCG, Schering
Plough/Merck) for bladder cancer, and ALUNBRIG® (brigatinib,
ARIAD/Takeda) for lung cancer, as well as medicines for autoimmune
diseases. Most recently he led the U.S. lung cancer portfolio at
Takeda Oncology where he was responsible for the launch and
commercialization of ALUNBRIG and subsequent pipeline products.
Prior to this, Mr. Ladha led the U.S. and global lung cancer
portfolio at ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, part of Takeda Oncology since
early 2017. Previously, Mr. Ladha was the head of global and U.S.
biosimilars at Hospira/Pfizer where he oversaw the launch and
commercialization of three biosimilars in oncology and autoimmune
diseases. He also held roles in oncology field sales and later led
oncology marketing and product commercial development at
Schering-Plough and then Merck for nine years. Prior to joining
industry, Mr. Ladha spent five years as a researcher at
Harvard Medical School's Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute and co-authored several scientific publications on
his cancer research in areas of RAS driven signal transduction
pathway and retinoblastoma and cyclin-dependent cell cycle
mechanisms. Mr. Ladha received a master's of public administration
in healthcare/international development from Harvard University and a master's of business
administration in marketing and finance from Northwestern University.
"With a highly differentiated cancer-selective gene therapy
platform, provocative clinical data for Toca 511 & Toca FC
including six complete and durable responses in patients with
recurrent brain cancer, and a fully enrolled pivotal Phase 3 trial,
I am eager to join Tocagen's team and build the company's
commercial capabilities for the launch and commercialization of
Toca 511 & Toca FC, following approval," said Mr. Ladha. "If
the Toca 5 trial results are positive, Toca 511 & Toca FC would
be the first therapeutic to show a treatment benefit in a
randomized trial in patients with recurrent high grade glioma.
That's a powerful proposition for patients with brain cancer,
especially in a therapeutic area that has lacked any major
treatment advances for almost two decades."
About Tocagen Inc.
Tocagen is a clinical-stage,
cancer-selective gene therapy company developing first-in-class,
broadly applicable product candidates designed to activate a
patient's immune system against their own
cancer. Tocagen's lead investigational product candidate,
Toca 511 & Toca FC, is under evaluation in a pivotal Phase 3
trial for recurrent high grade glioma (HGG), a disease with
significant unmet medical need. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has granted Toca 511 & Toca FC
Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of recurrent HGG
and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Toca
511 PRIME (PRIority MEdicines) designation for the treatment of
glioma. For more information about Tocagen,
visit www.tocagen.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in
this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts
are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding our business plans and objectives and
expectations regarding the enrollment, timing and success of our
clinical trials as well as future regulatory approval of Toca 511
& Toca FC. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the
forward-looking statements include: the timing and results of our
ongoing and planned clinical trials; our ability to execute on our
strategy, including our ability to complete the clinical
development and other activities required for regulatory approval
of Toca 511 & Toca FC in the U.S. and other jurisdictions; and
regulatory developments in the United
States and foreign countries. These and other risks and
uncertainties are described more fully under the caption "Risk
Factors" and elsewhere in Tocagen's filings and reports with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made. Tocagen undertakes no
obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur
or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were
made.
Inducement Awards
In connection with the hiring of Mr.
Ladha, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of
Tocagen has approved the grant to Mr. Ladha an inducement stock
option award to purchase 75,000 shares of Tocagen common
stock. The stock option will be granted on September 30,
2018 in accordance with Tocagen's general
practice. The stock option will have an exercise price per
share equal to the closing price of Tocagen's common
stock on September 30, 2018, and it will be a non-qualified
stock option and will have a 10-year term. The stock option
will vest over four years, with 25% of the shares subject to the
option vesting on the one-year anniversary of the commencement of
Mr. Ladha's employment with Tocagen and the remainder of
the shares vesting in equal monthly installments over the following
three years, subject to Mr. Ladha's continued service
with Tocagen through the applicable vesting dates. The
stock option will be subject to the terms and conditions
of Tocagen's 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and
the award agreement pursuant to which the stock option is
granted.
Media Contact:
Pam
Lord
Canale Communications
(619) 849-6003
pam@canalecomm.com
Investor Contact:
Elizabeth
Broder
Endurance Advisors
ebroder@enduranceadvisors.com
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SOURCE Tocagen Inc.