PRINCETON, N.J., June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Celator Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company working to develop improved combination chemotherapies for different forms of cancer, has named pharmaceutical industry veteran Felix Botelho as head of commercial development. Mr. Botelho will assume responsibility for commercial opportunities related to Celator's pipeline of combination chemotherapy agents, including the assessment of potential research and product development collaborations.

"Felix Botelho's broad knowledge of the biopharmaceutical industry and his background in product development make him an ideal choice to lead our commercial development operations," said Andrew Janoff, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Celator Pharmaceuticals. "He has successfully brought several leading products to market and will help Celator to explore a range of promising commercial opportunities related to our pipeline in the years ahead."

Mr. Botelho has more than 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical product development. Most recently, he was a founder of Zeneus Pharma, a European hospital specialty company acquired by Cephalon in December 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Botelho held a range of senior positions at Merck & Co., Inc., including commercial operations, corporate and business development and new product planning.

Celator also announced that the company has expanded its corporate and research facilities in both Princeton, New Jersey and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company recently moved to new 12,000 square foot headquarters at 303B College Road East in Princeton that includes expanded laboratory facilities and offices. In addition, the company expanded its facilities in Vancouver to 15,000 square feet to meet expanding requirements for research operations.

"Both the addition of Felix Botelho and our new research and office facilities will support Celator's aggressive plans for growth. We have recently expanded our staff in the U.S. and will continue to seek out new team members as we rapidly advance our many product development programs," Dr. Janoff added.

Celator recently announced positive results from a Phase 1 clinical trial for CPX-1, the company's lead compound in clinical development as a potential therapy for patients with colorectal cancer. Results of the Phase 1 study were presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Atlanta on June 4, 2006. The Phase 2 clinical trial for CPX-1 is expected to begin next month. The company also announced that the FDA has approved an IND filing for CPX-351, a second combination chemotherapy based on Celator's CombiPlex technology. CPX-351 is in development as a potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. The company plans to begin a Phase 1 trial for CPX- 351 in late 2006.

About Celator

Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly Celator Technologies, Inc., is a privately held biopharmaceutical company working to develop new and more effective therapies to treat cancer. CombiPlex, the company's drug ratio technology platform, represents a revolutionary new approach to the development of combination therapies.

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SOURCE Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc.