CRANBURY, New Jersey, August 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the cancer metabolism company, today announced that Dorit Arad, Ph.D., has been appointed director of research and development for the company's operations in Israel. Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals is establishing development and clinical research and trial collaborations with leading scientists and physician investigators. Cornerstone is the leader in the discovery and development of cancer therapies based on the science of cancer metabolism.

Dr. Arad has more than 25 years of multidisciplinary experience in the areas of industrial RD, physical organic chemistry, computational chemistry, drug design, bioinformatics, structural biology and biotechnology. She is the author and co-author of 50 scientific publications as well as 30 patent applications and has received several prestigious awards in chemistry. Dr. Arad has collaborated and interacted with world-class scientists including Nobel laureate Dr. John Pople, Dr. H.C. Brown, and Dr. Ada Yonat.

Prior to joining Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Arad founded NLC Pharma Inc., Anticancer Israel and MND Diagnostics, LTD, the latter of which developed a new high-speed test to detect swine flu. Dr. Arad also developed a unique mechanism based technology (QCT) as Executive VP of Drug Design for Exegenics Inc. in Dallas, TX. As a professor of molecular microbiology and biotechnology at Tel-Aviv University, she pioneered the field of molecular modeling and drug design in Israel and provided consulting services to leading Israeli pharmaceutical companies including Teva, Dipharm, NST, Gamidor-Gamida and Gamida-cell. Early in her career, Dr. Arad earned her B.S., M.S. and D.Sc. in chemistry from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr. Arad is a renowned expert in structure-based drug design, remarked Dr. Robert Shorr, CEO for Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals. Based on her long and successful track record in a variety of disciplines, we have great confidence in her contributions to our drug discovery efforts, specifically, in her ability to optimize the clinical development of CPI-613, a first-in-class cancer-fighting drug currently in clinical trials that targets certain key aspects of cancer metabolism. I am extremely pleased to add her experience and skill set to our executive management team.

I am proud to spearhead Cornerstone's operations in Israel and to assist in the management of its development and clinical efforts here, said Dr. Arad. Cancer is a devastating disease, with very few treatment options and represents a huge health challenge in Israel. The chance to work with the most advanced clinical programs and leading scientists in cancer metabolism is extremely exciting. I look forward to helping to bring to market drugs that may positively impact the lives of patients.

About Cancer Metabolism

Cancer cell metabolism is an exciting and promising area for the development of drugs to treat cancer. While it has been known for nearly a century that cancer cells have a unique metabolism, only recently has there been a broad and significant renewal of scientific interest focused on exploring this unique metabolic difference to facilitate the discovery and development of groundbreaking therapies. Cornerstone is the only company that currently has a drug in clinical trials targeting certain key enzymes that it has identified as crucial to cancer cell metabolism. Unlike normal cell metabolism, cancer cell metabolism utilizes less oxygen and has different nutritional requirements to survive and proliferate. This metabolic difference is considered to be fundamental to the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells and is believed to be conserved in all cancers, including solid tumors, lymphoma and leukemia. By better understanding these cancer-specific metabolic processes, researchers in the field hope to find new drugs to revolutionize cancer treatment.

About Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading cancer metabolism company, is committed to changing the way cancer is treated through the discovery and development of innovative therapies capitalizing on the unique metabolic processes of cancer cells. The company's founding members, management and scientific advisory team include pre-eminent scientists focused on cancer cell metabolism, cancer research and drug development. Cornerstone is unique in that it currently has a first-in-class drug in clinical trials that targets key enzymes crucial to cancer cell metabolism. AEMD, the company's unique approach to cancer treatment, is the leading platform in cancer metabolism. It has facilitated the discovery of first-in-class drugs with the potential to transform the way cancer is treated. Cornerstone's lead drug, CPI-613, is currently being evaluated in three ongoing Phase I and Phase I/II clinical trials in a variety of tumor types.

About CPI-613

CPI-613 is the first drug in a new chemical class that, through a novel mechanism, targets metabolic changes considered to be common to many, if not all, cancer types and not present in normal cells. Patients with solid tumors and hematologic cancers are currently being enrolled in multiple Phase I and Phase I/II human clinical trials evaluating CPI-613. These trials include a Phase I/II single agent trial for patients with solid tumors who have failed all other therapy options, a Phase I/II combination trial with Gemcitabine in newly diagnosed or relapsed patients, and a single agent trial in hematologic malignancies. CPI-613 was granted orphan drug status by the US FDA for pancreatic cancer, which has a poor prognosis, spreads rapidly and often goes undetected in its early stages.

For further information, visit http://www.cornerstonepharma.com. Or contact: Meghan Weber at +1-917-399-8713

This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or each company's future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential or continue, the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements should not be regarded as a representation by the company, or any other person, that such forward-looking statements will be achieved. The business and operations of the company are subject to substantial risks which increase the uncertainty inherent in forward-looking statements. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of the foregoing, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc Media Contact: Meghan Weber 1 Duncan Drive Liza Sullivan Associates Cranbury, NJ 08512 +1-917-399-8713

SOURCE: Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONTACT: Meghan Weber, Liza Sullivan Associates, +1-917-399-8713