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Astex Pharmaceuticals: James Manuso & Harren Jhoti introduce the newly formed Astex Pharmaceuticals




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Video title: Astex Pharmaceuticals: James Manuso & Harren Jhoti introduce the newly formed Astex Pharmaceuticals
Released on: November 02, 2011. © PharmaTelevision Ltd
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  • Summary
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In this episode of PharmaTelevision News Review, Paul Larsmon talks to James Manuso Chairman & CEO and Harren Jhoti President of Astex Pharmaceuticals.
Full video transcripts are available with PharmaTelevision Premium Content. Click here to buy a subscription or sign up for a 14 day free trial.
Reasons for merger of SuperGen and Astex Therapeutics into Astex Pharmaceuticals
Paul Larsmon :
Hello and welcome to PharmaTelevision News Review here at BioPartnering Europe 2011, in London. On the show today I have got James Manuso, formerly of SuperGen and Harren Jhoti, formerly of Astex Therapeutics. Now you guys have come together the two companies have merged the obvious question is what was the synergy, how and why did you merge?
Harren Jhoti:
Sure, so may be just a few seconds to give you a description of Astex Therapeutics as it was, so we were private company VC backed had raised around 80 million pounds it also been quite successful with this snapping big pharma partnerships with people such as AstraZeneca, GSK, J&J, Novartis and our real differentiating product or platform was in the fragment based drug discovery arena a new approach to develop small molecule medicines. What we have been doing was using that platform to establish these partnerships, but also using the platform to build our own internal clinical pipeline which we've had successfully done, so we actually had three compounds which were on the verge or had entered Phase II clinical trials, so the challenge for Astex Therapeutics was you know how do we take that next step, you know how do we continue to grow the company. We obviously were monitoring the possibility of doing an IPO in London for several years, but at the same time we were entertaining other options as well and that's where really that story this story began where Jim Manuso and I had a initial discussion few years back and that's what happened which resulted in this merger .
Paul Larsmon :
And James, you were clearly impressed by what Astex Therapeutics had to offer?
James Manuso:
Yes very much though, actually a former employee of SuperGen's ended it up at Astex Therapeutics some years ago so we followed the company with great interest and also were compelled to have discussions about their pipeline especially in light of our circumstances. SuperGen at the time of the merger discussions a profitable company, profitable in three out of the last four years and in fact this year we anticipate overall revenues in the range of $57.5 million from Dacogen the lead product and also about $6 million from deals that were done primarily by Astex Therapeutics, so all then we expect this year to bring in about $64 million, on the other hand what was interesting to us was this remarkable platform a basis for continuing drug discovery and the basis for so many opportunities to earn additional revenues from the deals with the pharmaceutical companies, SuperGen for its part a very strong clinical and regulatory development operation, significant cash on hand in fact we ended the second quarter of this year with about a $128 million, a pipeline and also a joint focus primarily on oncology and this then made a great deal of sense given the discovery capabilities of Astex Therapeutics and the clinical and regulatory development capabilities and commercialization capabilities of SuperGen.
Paul Larsmon :
I must ask you James, I mean what's in the name the new company is Astex Pharmaceuticals?
Full video transcripts are available with PharmaTelevision Premium Content. Click here to buy a subscription or sign up for a 14 day free trial.
Paul Larsmon
Paul Larsmon has worked as a broadcast television journalist for 25 years, covering general news, business and politics. He has been both presenter and producer in several news broadcasters, including the major British television news company ITN. He joined PharmaTelevision as Executive Producer earlier this year and has been responsible for getting , PTV News launched.
Harren Jhoti
President and Director
Harren Jhoti presently serves as President and Director of Astex Pharmaceuticals. Harren Jhoti PhD, has served as Astex Pharmaceuticals president and member of the Board of Directors since July 2011. He co-founded Astex Therapeutics in 1999 and was chief scientific officer until November 2007 when he was appointed chief executive. Dr. Jhoti was named by the Royal Society of Chemistry as "Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year"for 2007. He has published widely including in leading journals such as Nature and Science and has also been featured in TIME magazine after being named by the World Economic Forum a Technology Pioneer in 2005. Dr. Jhoti served as a non-executive director of Iconix Inc. Before starting up Astex Therapeutics in 1999, he was head of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics at GlaxoWellcome in the United Kingdom (1991-1999). Prior to Glaxo, Dr. Jhoti was a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford University. He received a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry in 1985 and a PhD in Protein Crystallography from the University of London in 1989.
James S.J Manuso
Chairman and CEO
James Manuso PhD, MBA, currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals. He served as Astex Pharmaceuticals (formerly SuperGen) chairman, president and CEO from January 2004 to July 2011, as chief executive officer-elect from September 2003 to December 2003 and as a director since February 2001. He is co-founder and immediate past president and chief executive officer of Galenica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Manuso co-founded and was general partner of PrimeTech Partners, a biotechnology venture management partnership, from 1998 to 2002, and co-founder and managing general partner of The Channel Group LLC, an international life sciences corporate advisory firm. He was also president of Manuso, Alexander & Associates, Inc, management consultants and financial advisors to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Dr. Manuso was a vice president and director of Health Care Planning and Development for The Equitable Companies (now Group Axa), where he also served as an acting medical director. He currently serves on the boards of Novelos Therapeutics Inc. (NVLT:OB) and privately held KineMed, Inc. Previously, he served on the boards of Merrion Pharmaceuticals Ltd (MERR:IEX; Dublin, Ireland), Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., Symbiontics Inc. (subsequently sold to BioMarin as ZyStor Therapeutics Inc.), Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Galenica Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Supratek Pharma Inc Dr. Manuso earned a BA with Honors in Economics and Chemistry from New York University, a PhD in Experimental Psychophysiology from the Graduate Faculty of The New School University, a Certificate in Health Systems Management from ,Harvard Business School and an Executive MBA from Columbia Business School. Dr. Manuso is the author of over 30 chapters, articles and books on topics including health care cost containment and biotechnology company management. He has taught and lectured at Columbia, New York University, Georgetown, Polytechnic University, Waseda University (Japan) and elsewhere. He has delivered invited addresses at meetings of the American Management Association, the American Medical Association, the Securities Industry Association, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and many other professional associations. Dr. Manuso serves on the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and its Health Section Governing Board. He previously served as vice president and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
PharmaVentures
PharmaVentures is a company that has proven success in deals and alliances. PharmaVentures offers: Over 18 years of healthcare industry experience gained from working with in excess of 1000 clients in 38 countries, and conducting more than 450 assignments Over 40 specialist advisors, analysts and researchers Skills honed in many countries - 80% of its business comes from outside the UK.
Astex Pharmaceuticals
Astex Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics with a focus on cancer. The Company is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel cancertherapeutics, will selectively in-license assets possessing a strategic fit with an attractive cost value ratio, and is creating de-risked products for partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex Pharmaceuticals, formerly SuperGen, developed Dacogen and receives significant royalties on global sales.
Astex Pharmaceuticals
Astex Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics with a focus on cancer. The Company is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel cancer therapeutics, will selectively in-license assets possessing a strategic fit with an attractive cost "value ratio, and is creating de-risked products for partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex Pharmaceuticals, formerly SuperGen, developed Dacogen and receives significant royalties on global sales.