SAN DIEGO, June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- TargeGen, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focusing on vascular biology, today announced the appointment of Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D. is currently Professor of Medicine, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology, and Director of the Arizona Cancer Center at The University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Von Hoff also serves as Chief Scientific Officer for US Oncology. He has published more than 480 papers, 122 book chapters, and more than 822 abstracts.

Dr. Von Hoff is the past President of the American Association for Cancer Research, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He is a founder and board member of ILEX Oncology, Inc. He is also founder and the Editor Emeritus of Investigational New Drugs - The journal of New Anticancer Agents; Co-Editor of ONE, Oncology Economics; and, Editor of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

"We are extremely pleased to have someone of Dr. Von Hoff's stature in his field possessing his depth of expertise in oncology join our Scientific Advisory Board," said Peter G. Ulrich, President and CEO of TargeGen. "Dr. Von Hoff's experience in the development of new anticancer agents and clinical development strategy for such drugs will significantly contribute to our ability to optimize the use of our proprietary technology platform."

About TargeGen, Inc.
TargeGen, Inc. is a privately held vascular biology focused biopharmaceutical company established in July 2001. TargeGen is developing targeted gene and non gene-based therapeutics to treat cancer (solid tumors), ischemic disease (stroke, heart attack) and other major diseases by regulating the processes associated with new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) and vascular permeability (VP). In March 2002, TargeGen executed a comprehensive licensing agreement with Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany). This agreement provides TargeGen with access to a portfolio of intellectual property in the field of vascular biology. Also in March 2002, TargeGen completed a $10M Series "A" financing. This funding round was led by Forward Ventures (San Diego), with significant participation by Enterprise Partners (La Jolla) and other investors.

SOURCE: TargeGen, Inc., 06/20/2002
CONTACT: Peter G. Ulrich, President & CEO of TargeGen Inc., +1-858-678-0760, or fax +1-858-678-0762, ulrich@targegen.com
WEBSITE: http://www.targegen.com