SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dendreon Pharmaceuticals LLC, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and pioneer in the development of immunotherapy treatments that are changing cancer care, today announced the appointment of Bruce A. Brown, M.D. as senior vice president, medical. This appointment is a demonstration of Dendreon’s commitment to R&D as it works to bring PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T) to more men who can benefit from its use. In this role, Dr. Brown will lead all functions in the company’s R&D organization, including research and discovery, clinical development and exploration of Dendreon’s therapeutic platform for other oncology indications.
“With the addition of Bruce, a board-certified urologist and experienced medical director, to our growing leadership team, we are intensifying our focus on urologists who are uniquely positioned to deliver long-term care to men with prostate cancer,” said James Caggiano, chief executive officer of Dendreon. “Bruce’s valuable background leading major medical organizations makes him the ideal fit to accelerate our R&D program and oversee our efforts to evaluate the use of PROVENGE in early-stage prostate cancer, with the hope of curing more men of the disease,” he said.
Dr. Brown joins Dendreon from Astellas Pharma, where he was senior medical director of oncology. In that position, he led U.S. medical strategy for the prostate cancer drug XTANDI® (enzalutamide) and served as medical monitor for TRUMPET, an observational study of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and ENACT, an interventional study of XTANDI in active surveillance prostate cancer patients. Before that, he was associate medical director, global pharmacovigilance, at Baxter Healthcare. Prior to entering the biopharmaceutical industry, he was a practicing urologist. He received an A.B. from Stanford University and an M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in urology.
“Having launched my medical career as a practicing urologist, I am excited by the prospect of improving the lives of men living with prostate cancer through expanded use of PROVENGE, both in the United States and around the world,” said Brown. “PROVENGE has been proven to increase overall survival in advanced prostate cancer patients in both clinical and real-world settings, and has shown great potential to benefit men with prostate cancer much earlier in their disease progression. I look forward to working with Dendreon’s experienced team to explore the promise of the use of PROVENGE in men when they are likely to derive the greatest possible benefit.”
About Dendreon
Dendreon is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and pioneer in the development of immunotherapies that are changing the future of cancer treatment. Dendreon’s flagship product, PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) was the first FDA-approved immunotherapy made from a patient’s own immune cells. PROVENGE has successfully treated more than 20,000 men with advanced prostate cancer in the U.S. since 2010. Dendreon also is evaluating the use of PROVENGE in early-stage prostate cancer, with the hope of curing more men of the disease. Dendreon is headquartered in Seal Beach, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.dendreon.com.
INDICATION
PROVENGE is an autologous cellular immunotherapy indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant (hormone-refractory) prostate cancer.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Acute Infusion Reactions: Acute infusion reactions (reported within 1 day of infusion) may occur and include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, rigor or chills, respiratory events (dyspnea, hypoxia, and bronchospasm), syncope, hypotension, hypertension, and tachycardia.
Thromboembolic Events: Thromboembolic events, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, can occur following infusion of PROVENGE. The clinical significance and causal relationship are uncertain. Most patients had multiple risk factors for these events. PROVENGE should be used with caution in patients with risk factors for thromboembolic events.
Vascular Disorders: Cerebrovascular events (hemorrhagic/ischemic strokes and transient ischemic attacks) and cardiovascular disorders (myocardial infarctions) have been reported following infusion of PROVENGE. The clinical significance and causal relationship are uncertain. Most patients had multiple risk factors for these events.
Handling Precautions: PROVENGE is not tested for transmissible infectious diseases.
Concomitant Chemotherapy or Immunosuppressive Therapy: Chemotherapy or immunosuppressive agents (such as systemic corticosteroids) given concurrently with the leukapheresis procedure or PROVENGE has not been studied. Concurrent use of immune-suppressive agents may alter the efficacy and/or safety of PROVENGE.
Adverse Reactions: The most common adverse reactions reported in clinical trials (≥ 15% of patients receiving PROVENGE) were chills, fatigue, fever, back pain, nausea, joint ache, and headache.
For full Prescribing Information, please visit http://www.dendreon.com/Products.
