HELSINKI, February 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncos Therapeutics, a biotech company developing novel cancer therapeutics based on its next generation oncolytic viruses, announced today the appointment of Dr. Mikael von Euler, MD, PhD, FFPM, as Chief Medical Officer. Earlier this year, the Company announced the appointments of Dr. Jonathan Knowles and Dr. Robert Burns to its Board of Directors.

"Oncos has already treated over 200 patients across different solid tumor types with many different formulations of its next generation oncolytic viruses - and this has created a unique platform of patient response data from which the company can now build the highest quality data-driven clinical development program," comments Mikael von Euler.Mikael is a clinical development professional and a seasoned oncology executive, bringing more than 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in senior roles. Most recently with Roche during 2007-2010, Mikael first held global clinical responsibility for the HER family of compounds including Herceptin, pertuzumab and Tarceva. As part of the Oncology Leadership Team, Mikael acted in 2009-2010 as a Cluster Head for the HER2 Franchise. Prior to Roche, Mikael was Vice President, Oncology MDC, Europe, at GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to GlaxoSmithKline, he worked across several key clinical development roles at AstraZeneca from 1995-2005, including Director of Clinical Strategy in Japan and Global Product Director Oncology, working with products including Arimidex, Zoladex, Nolvadex, Faslodex and Iressa. Mikael is an oncologist and PhD from Karolinska Institutet and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, UK.

"Mikael brings a wealth of clinical development and regulatory expertise to Oncos and he will have a key role in turning our Advanced Therapy Access Program and the virus platform into a clinical development program," comments Pekka Simula, CEO and Co-Founder of Oncos Therapeutics.

About Oncos Therapeutics

Oncos Therapeutics develops novel cancer therapies based on its next generation oncolytic viruses. The company's unique Advanced Therapy Access Program was started in 2007 for cancer patients in whom standard-of-care therapies have failed. Today, over 200 patients have undergone individually tailored oncolytic virus therapy suggesting strong safety and efficacy. The program is based on scientific research at the University of Helsinki and serves as the foundation for ongoing clinical development with company's lead agent CGTG-102, selected from the total of ten viruses used. Oncos Therapeutics publishes an oncolytic virus blog http://oncolyticvirus.wordpress.com. For more information about Oncos visit http://www.oncos.com.

SOURCE Oncos Therapeutics