Exhibit
99.1
OncoGenex Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer
BOTHELL, WA and VANCOUVER, BC — February 25, 2010 — OncoGenex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI) announced today that the Company and Steve Anderson, its
chief financial officer, have agreed that he will leave the Company effective yesterday.
OncoGenex has initiated an executive search to identify a CFO candidate suited for the next stage
of company growth, with deep ties in the biopharma investment community and experience
transitioning a pharmaceutical company from R&D stage to commercial development.
“I want to thank Steve Anderson for his excellent service during the past four years as chief
financial officer at OncoGenex, during which time OncoGenex successfully completed a reverse
takeover of Sonus Pharmaceuticals, became a Nasdaq-listed public company and licensed its lead
drug candidate to Teva Pharmaceutical,” said Scott Cormack, President and Chief Executive Officer
of OncoGenex. “In recognition of the company moving to a new stage in its development, Steve will
be moving on to new challenges. We wish him every success in his future endeavors. While we
identify a candidate to fit the evolving responsibilities of the job position, we have a strong
financial team already in place to continue accurate, timely and seamless accounting and
reporting.”
“Our business remains focused on the clinical development of our drug candidates led by our Chief
Medical Officer Dr. Cindy Jacobs,” added Cormack. “Dr. Jacobs maintains an active role on the
OGX-011 Joint Steering Committee in partnership with Teva Pharmaceutical, which is currently
preparing to initiate two Phase 3 clinical trials in prostate cancer this year. In addition, Dr.
Jacobs’ team has been critically involved in advancing the OGX-427 program, including development
of recent clinical trial protocols for Phase 2 prostate and bladder cancer.”
About OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new
cancer therapies that address treatment resistance in cancer patients. OncoGenex has a deep
oncology pipeline, with each product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and
representing a unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OncoGenex and Teva Pharmaceutical
have entered a global collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize OncoGenex’s
lead drug candidate, OGX-011. The companies expect to initiate two Phase 3 trials in castrate
resistant prostate cancer in 2010, and a third Phase 3 trial in non-small cell lung cancer in
early 2011; OGX-427 is in Phase 1 clinical development; SN2310 has completed a Phase 1 clinical
trial; and CSP-9222 and OGX-225 are currently in pre-clinical development.
More information about OncoGenex is available at www.oncogenex.com.