VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Appoints James Kyle Bryan, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

SEATTLE, April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the appointment of James Kyle Bryan, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer.  A hematologist and medical oncologist, Dr. Bryan brings more than 20 years of oncology drug discovery and development experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to VentiRx.  This includes extensive operational and strategic leadership work in his previous roles as Vice President of Global Product Development at PPD, Inc., a global contract research organization, and as Vice President of Medical Affairs at Seattle Genetics.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120828/SF63676LOGO)

"Kyle will be integral in directing our clinical development efforts, which will  include our ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of VTX-2337 in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with recurrent or persistent ovarian cancer and our upcoming Phase 2 trial of VTX-2337 in head and neck cancer patients," said Robert Hershberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of VentiRx. "His extensive experience in oncology drug development combined with his strong connections to oncology thought leaders will be invaluable to VentiRx going forward.  We are delighted to have him join the VentiRx team."

Board-certified in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine, Dr. Bryan currently serves on the clinical faculty of medicine for hematology and oncology at the University of Washington Medical Center.  Dr. Bryan received a B.S. in biochemistry and an M.D. from Louisiana State University and completed his fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Washington.

About VentiRx Pharmaceuticals
VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of novel Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, respiratory and inflammatory diseases.  The Company's lead product candidate is VTX-2337, a small molecule TLR8 agonist for the treatment of cancer. VentiRx has an exclusive, world-wide collaboration with Celgene Corporation for VTX-2337. VentiRx is a privately held organization based in Seattle, Washington.  For additional information, please visit www.ventirx.com.

SOURCE VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.