Randall B. Riggs Joins Advanced Cancer Therapeutics as President & CEO


Contact:
Randall B. Riggs, President & CEO
Advanced Cancer Therapeutics
Phone: (502) 345-8911
Email:
rriggs@advancedact.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Louisville, KY - January 15, 2008 - Advanced Cancer Therapeutics (ACT), a privately held company dedicated to bringing new anti-cancer therapies to market,today announced the appointment of Randall B. Riggs as the company’s president and CEO. Founded in January 2007, ACT is focused on the discovery and early development of novel cancer therapeutics as well as the selection for partnership, commercialization and manufacture of the most promising discoveries. Utilizing its groundbreaking business arrangement with the James Graham Brown Cancer Center (JGBCC) and the University of Louisville Research Foundation, ACT will establish exclusive rights to specific novel therapeutics and fast-track these leading edge discoveries to the pharmaceutical industry, and ultimately the patients who need them.


Mr. Riggs has extensive experience in corporate strategy, business development and operations management and brings over fifteen years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical experience to ACT. Most recently, Mr. Riggs was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Birmingham, AL where he played an integral role in corporate and business development strategy. Prior to BioCryst, Mr. Riggs was the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in The Woodlands, TX, where he was responsible for corporate development and business strategy. Mr. Riggs began his pharmaceutical career working for Eli Lilly & Company in sales/sales management and was then promoted to Manager of Corporate Business Development at Lilly’s headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, where he successfully completed several strategic partnerships.  


Mr. Riggs graduated Cum Laude from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, with a degree in business management and then earned his MBA in Finance from the University of Houston.


“Randy’s business development and corporate strategy experience with both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will be invaluable to ACT now and well into the future,” said Dale Boden, chairman of the board of directors for ACT.   


“We are excited about the unique drug discovery and early clinical development business model we have established between the University of Louisville’s JGBCC and ACT,” added Ty Wilburn, board member of ACT. “Based on the productivity we have already seen from scientists at the JGBCC under the leadership of Dr. Don Miller, we anticipate ACT will have the opportunity to advance a wealth of novel anti-cancer therapeutic products moving forward.”  


“ACT has assembled state-of-the art technologies and a highly productive group of scientists at the University of Louisville’s JGBCC and I am honored to have the opportunity to advance these novel drug discoveries through early clinical development, and then establish creative business structures with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for late stage development and, ultimately, for worldwide commercialization activities,” said Randall Riggs, president & CEO of ACT.



About Advanced Cancer Therapeutics (ACT):


ACT is a privately held company dedicated to advancing novel therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of cancer. ACT has successfully established a unique and innovative business model with the University of Louisville’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center (Brown Cancer Center) whereby ACT is able to obtain exclusive worldwide licenses to novel cancer therapeutics discovered at Brown Cancer Center under preset business terms. ACT then fast-tracks these discoveries, including the selection process for partnership, commercialization and manufacture, to the pharmaceutical industry, and ultimately to the patients who need them. Led by Dr. Don Miller, the Brown Cancer Center employs over fifty scientists focused on the discovery and advancement of breakthrough cancer therapeutics for patients suffering from cancer. For more information, please visit www.advancedcancertherapeutics.com.