SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) today announced the appointment of Hank Mansbach, M.D., as vice president of medical affairs. Dr. Mansbach will lead Medivation's medical affairs activities for dimebon (latrepirdine*), the company's Phase 3 candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington diseases, and MDV3100, which is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
"Hank brings a vast array of experience in a broad range of CNS therapeutic areas, and we are delighted to have him join the Medivation team," said Rohan Palekar, chief commercial officer of Medivation. "With multiple Phase 3 trials ongoing with both dimebon and MDV3100, this is an excellent time for Hank to help deepen our relationships with the medical community and expand the visibility of our programs as we move towards commercialization."
Dr. Mansbach is a neurologist with more than 10 years of strategic and operational drug development experience across all phases of development and multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Medivation, he was senior vice president and head of global drug development at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company. At Valeant, among other programs, he led the development of retigabine, a novel epilepsy therapy which successfully completed Phase 3 trials in 2008 and was subsequently licensed to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Mansbach was chief medical officer and vice president for clinical development at Cortex Pharmaceuticals, an emerging biotechnology company developing novel CNS therapeutics. Dr. Mansbach began his industry career in the U.S. medical affairs department at GlaxoWellcome supporting the commercialization of Imitrex®/Imigran® and Lamictal® before taking on leadership roles in the GSK Neurosciences clinical development organization. While at GSK he worked on programs in migraine, stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, pain and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Mansbach earned a medical degree from Duke University and a bachelor's degree cum laude in philosophy from Yale University.
*Latrepirdine is the proposed generic (nonproprietary) name for dimebon.
About Medivation
Medivation, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development of novel small molecule drugs to treat serious diseases for which there are limited treatment options. Medivation aims to transform the treatment of these diseases and offer hope to critically ill patients and their caregivers. In September 2008, Medivation announced a global agreement with Pfizer Inc to develop and commercialize dimebon (latrepirdine) for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington diseases. With Pfizer, Medivation is conducting a broad dimebon clinical development program that includes several Phase 3 trials assessing the efficacy and safety of dimebon taken alone or in combination with other Alzheimer's medications in patients with mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease. The companies are also conducting a Phase 3 trial of dimebon in Huntington disease. A Phase 3 clinical trial of MDV3100 in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is under way. For more information, please visit us at http://www.medivation.com.
SOURCE Medivation, Inc.
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"Hank brings a vast array of experience in a broad range of CNS therapeutic areas, and we are delighted to have him join the Medivation team," said Rohan Palekar, chief commercial officer of Medivation. "With multiple Phase 3 trials ongoing with both dimebon and MDV3100, this is an excellent time for Hank to help deepen our relationships with the medical community and expand the visibility of our programs as we move towards commercialization."
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Dr. Mansbach is a neurologist with more than 10 years of strategic and operational drug development experience across all phases of development and multiple therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Medivation, he was senior vice president and head of global drug development at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company. At Valeant, among other programs, he led the development of retigabine, a novel epilepsy therapy which successfully completed Phase 3 trials in 2008 and was subsequently licensed to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Mansbach was chief medical officer and vice president for clinical development at Cortex Pharmaceuticals, an emerging biotechnology company developing novel CNS therapeutics. Dr. Mansbach began his industry career in the U.S. medical affairs department at GlaxoWellcome supporting the commercialization of Imitrex®/Imigran® and Lamictal® before taking on leadership roles in the GSK Neurosciences clinical development organization. While at GSK he worked on programs in migraine, stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, pain and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Mansbach earned a medical degree from Duke University and a bachelor's degree cum laude in philosophy from Yale University.
*Latrepirdine is the proposed generic (nonproprietary) name for dimebon.
About Medivation
Medivation, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development of novel small molecule drugs to treat serious diseases for which there are limited treatment options. Medivation aims to transform the treatment of these diseases and offer hope to critically ill patients and their caregivers. In September 2008, Medivation announced a global agreement with Pfizer Inc to develop and commercialize dimebon (latrepirdine) for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Huntington diseases. With Pfizer, Medivation is conducting a broad dimebon clinical development program that includes several Phase 3 trials assessing the efficacy and safety of dimebon taken alone or in combination with other Alzheimer's medications in patients with mild, moderate and severe Alzheimer's disease. The companies are also conducting a Phase 3 trial of dimebon in Huntington disease. A Phase 3 clinical trial of MDV3100 in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is under way. For more information, please visit us at http://www.medivation.com.
SOURCE Medivation, Inc.
