NeoRx changes name to Poniard Pharmaceuticals, moves headquarters to San Francisco

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., May 10 - NeoRx Corp. announced Wednesday that it is changing its corporate name to Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. effective June 16 to reflect its strategic repositioning as a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of products to impact the lives of people with cancer.

The company will continue to be traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "NERX" until the close of business on June 16, after which it will be traded under the symbol "PARD." Until the effective date of the formal corporate name change, the company plans to do business under the trade name Poniard Pharmaceuticals.

The company plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Seattle to San Francisco, which will broaden access to resources to build its programs, the company said in a news release.

Treats first patient with picoplatin

The company also said it has treated the first patient in a phase 1/2 clinical trial of its lead product, picoplatin, for the potential front-line treatment of colorectal cancer.

An intravenous chemotherapeutic agent, picoplatin is designed to overcome platinum resistance associated with the treatment of solid tumors, the release said.

In addition to the colorectal cancer trial, picoplatin is being studied in an open-label, multi-center phase 2 clinical trial in small cell lung cancer patients.

The company said it plans to initiate a phase 1/2 trial of picoplatin in patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer by the end of the second quarter.

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