SUDA Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:SUD) has appointed Swedish Professor of Haematology Gunnar Birgegård, an expert in platelet biology and cancer, to its Scientific Advisory Board.
The company is developing anagrelide to be used as an adjunct therapy to treat patients with specific solid tumours and thrombocytosis and the appointment represents another strong addition to its program.
“Valuable experience”
SUDA’s CEO and MD Michael Baker said: “We are very pleased that Professor Birgegård has agreed to join our Scientific Advisory Board.
“We are also happy with the support that the anagrelide program is receiving from world-renowned experts in the field of platelet biology and cancer.
“Professor Birgegård’s experience using anagrelide in the clinical setting will provide valuable experience as we develop anagrelide for the treatment of metastatic disease.”
Birgegård’s experience
Gunnar Birgegård is Professor of Haematology at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, and whose research has included work on erythropoiesis, a process through which red blood cells are produced in the body, and iron, mainly with regards to ferritin, a kind of blood protein that contains iron, and inflammation.
His group was one of the first to publish a radioimmunoassay method for measuring serum erythropoietin.
He has also been involved in implementing erythropoietin treatment studies in autotransfusion and cancer as well as intravenous iron and Epo efficacy and was chairman of the Nordic Study Group for Myeloproliferative disorders (a rare blood cancer).
Professor Birgegård is currently involved with studies on platelet reduction therapy with anagrelide and interferon.
He has been involved in studies analysing the clinical use of anagrelide for the treatment of Essential Thrombocythemia and other Myeloproliferative Neoplasms and is also a member of Leukemia Network Work Package 9 on Myeloproliferative disorders.