CytRx Announces Key Addition to Corporate Development Team

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced the engagement of Eric L. Curtis, MBA, to provide strategic counsel for the Company's ongoing programs, including its LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology platform and ultra-high potency drug candidates, beginning with proof of concept through clinical development.

"CytRx is an exciting story, with a lot of potential for its LADR® technology drug candidates to change the way patients with high unmet needs receive treatment," said Mr. Curtis.  "Dr. Kratz, and his world-class team at the discovery lab in Freiberg, Germany have created a valuable discovery engine for the creation of new, proprietary drug candidates that employ a linker to deliver a variety of ultra-high potency cytotoxic payloads, but with the potential for low systemic toxicity. This work could result in LADR® products having distinct advantages over what is available to treat patients today. I look forward to working with the entire CytRx team as we maximize the potential of this technology and its ability to create new treatments for patients battling cancer."

"Eric is a key addition to our corporate development team. His engagement represents our commitment to maximizing the potential of our ongoing programs, including the advancement of our innovative LADR drug conjugates as well as managing both existing and future partnerships," said Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx's Chairman and CEO.  "Eric has a long history of leading successful oncology initiatives at life science companies and we believe his expertise will be invaluable as we develop our emerging LADR candidates and pursue new strategic partnering opportunities with large pharma and biotech companies, all with the goal of ultimately broadening the reach of the LADR platform technology through creation of new ultra-high potency anti-cancer agents."

Mr. Curtis brings 25 years of drug development and commercialization strategy experience to CytRx, with a proven track record in executive leadership in oncology. Most recently, he has provided commercial and strategic consultancy services to a variety of life science companies through his consultancy practice, Curtis Biopharm Consulting. Prior to that, Mr. Curtis served as President, U.S. Commercial, at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (now Novelion Therapeutics), where he was instrumental in designing and implementing the division's structure and business strategy and delivering optimal performance. Prior to Aegerion, Mr. Curtis served as Vice President and General Manager – Rare Disease/Cardiopulmonary Business Unit at Bayer Healthcare, where he successfully led the design and build of this new US commercial business unit. Prior to Bayer, he held positions of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline, culminating in his role as Vice President, US Marketing – Immunology/Rare Disease Unit and Benlysta® Global Commercial Leader.  In this role, he led the successful US launch of Benlysta. Prior to that role he  was active in the development strategy for Votrient® for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, renal cell carcinoma and other tumor types.  Mr. Curtis also brings substantial sales and marketing acumen gained through his involvement in several oncology treatments, including Doxil®, Velcade®, and Tykerb®. Mr. Curtis earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Pennsylvania State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in both Business and Psychology.

About the LADR™ Technology Platform
CytRx's innovative LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology employs a broad portfolio of novel linker molecules that selectively bind to circulating albumin and can be linked to a wide variety of anti-cancer payloads.  The Company's research efforts currently center on creating new molecules from the combination of ultra-high potency cytotoxic payloads with tunable linkers.  The molecules that CytRx is currently evaluating concentrate at the tumor site providing targeted delivery of the cell killing payloads.

About CytRx Corporation
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR) is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in research and clinical development of novel anti-cancer drug candidates that employ linker technologies to enhance the accumulation and release of drug at the tumor. CytRx is also rapidly expanding its pipeline of ultra-high potency oncology candidates at its laboratory facilities in Freiburg, Germany, through its LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology platform, a discovery engine designed to leverage CytRx's expertise in albumin biology and linker technology for the development of a new class of potential breakthrough anti-cancer therapies. Aldoxorubicin, CytRx's most advanced drug conjugate, is an improved version of the widely used anti-cancer drug doxorubicin and has been out-licensed to NantCell, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements, including the ability of NantCell, Inc., to obtain regulatory approval for its products that use aldoxorubicin; the ability of NantCell, Inc., to manufacture and commercialize products or therapies that use aldoxorubicin; the amount, if any, of future milestone and royalty payments that we may receive from NantCell, Inc.; our ability to develop new ultra-high potency drug candidates based on our LADR^TM technology platform; and other risks and uncertainties described in the most recent annual and quarterly reports filed by CytRx with the Securities and Exchange Commission and current reports filed since the date of CytRx's most recent annual report. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to CytRx on the date the statements are first published. CytRx undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
Argot Partners
Michelle Carroll/Sean Augustine-Obi
(212) 600-1902 
[email protected]
[email protected]

SOURCE CytRx Corporation

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