NovaRx Corporation announced the appointment of Norrie J W Russell, to the position of president and chief operating officer. Dr Russell brings to the company more than 25 years experience in drug discovery and a long history of success driving innovation in pharmaceutical discovery and development. He also has experience leading entrepreneurial biotechnology companies developing pioneering new technologies. Prior to NovaRx, Dr Russell was the president and CEO of Kalos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of cancer therapies. Before Kalos, he served as chief scientific officer at Invitrogen. He has also served as president and CEO of Aviva Biosciences and Lynx Therapeutics.

Prior to moving to the United States, Dr Russell had a long career at AstraZeneca, where he was Global Head, Biological Science and Technology, with responsibility for the application of genomics, genetics and proteomics to both target discovery and the entire research and development process. Dr Russell holds a Ph.D in Physiology from Glasgow University, Scotland.

"We are pleased to have Norrie joining the team," said Justin M Murdock, CEO and executive chairman of NovaRx. "His energy, enthusiasm and experience will help drive NovaRx to new levels and accelerate our ability to get innovative new treatments to cancer patients."

Habib Fakhrai, executive vice chairman of NovaRx and the company's founding scientist, will assume the title of chief scientific officer. Dr Fakhrai said, "Dr. Russell's appointment comes at an important time for the company as we pursue the late-stage development of our first product Lucanix. We welcome the experience he brings."

"I am delighted to be joining NovaRx, it is an exciting company," said Dr Russell. "Lucanix is a very promising product, which we believe will prove to be a safe and effective treatment for lung cancer patients. My clear priority is to ensure the phase-III study is executed flawlessly. In addition, I will be searching to find the best commercialization partner for Lucanix while growing our tremendous pipeline of new product opportunities."

Founded in 1997, NovaRx Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel cell-based therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of cancer.