Company OverviewLixte Biotechnology Holdings Inc.
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIXT) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering drugs for more effective treatments for many forms of cancer and other serious common diseases. A major driver of cancer is defects in the switches that turn the biochemical pathways in cells on and off. Most cancer research over the past 30 years has focused on the “on” switches because the “off” switches, especially the master “off” switch protein phosphatase (PP2A), were believed to cause intolerable toxicity in patients.
Lixte has achieved a breakthrough with its novel, first-in-class lead compound, PP2A inhibitor LB-100, by demonstrating that it is readily tolerated in cancer patients at doses associated with anti-cancer activity. This innovative approach encourages cancer cells, weakened by chemo or other cancer therapies, to continue to replicate, leading to the more efficient death and elimination of those cells from the body. Lixte has partnered with top medical institutions and leading academic research centers to advance the clinical development of its compounds. The LB-100 compound, of which there are no competitors in the clinic, is currently being tested in three clinical studies with others in planning.
Speaker BioConsultant & Director
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.
Gil N. Schwartzberg, JD, ScD (hon) has been a consultant to Lixte since the company’s inception. Prior to which, he was the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the City of Hope National Medical center, an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Mr. Schwartzberg was the only person in the City of Hope’s 100-year history to hold both CEO and Board Chair positions.
He is currently Chairman Emeritus for life. His leadership and perceptive insights into the complexities of integrating basic science research with state-of-the-art compassionate patient care and the accreditation of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope during his tenure as president, were recognized by that institution in 2003 by awarding Mr. Schwartzberg a Doctor of Science degree, the first such degree awarded by the graduate school.
During his extensive career he has held positions of major responsibility in: law, biomedicine, banking, apparel/shoe manufacturing and fast food retailing. He has overseen the process by which over a dozen companies have become publicly traded, on all of the United States securities exchanges.
Speaker BioCEO & Founder
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.
Dr. John S. Kovach founded Lixte in August 2005 and is our President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and a member of our Board of Directors. He received a B.A. (cum laude) from Princeton University and an M.D. (AOA) from the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University. Dr. Kovach trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology at Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University and spent six years in the laboratory of Chemical Biology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic diseases studying control of gene expression in bacterial systems.
Dr. Kovach was recruited to the State University of New York at Stony Brook (“SUNY – Stony Brook”) in Stony Brook, New York in 2000 to found the Long Island Cancer Center (now named the Stony Brook University Cancer Center). From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Kovach was Executive Vice President for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. His responsibilities included oversight of all basic and clinical research initiatives at the City of Hope. During that time, Dr. Kovach was also Director of the Beckman Research Center at City of Hope and a member of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Scientific Advisory Board in Newport Beach, California.
From 1976 to 1994, Dr. Kovach was a consultant in oncology and director of the Cancer Pharmacology Division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. During this time, he directed the early clinical trials program for evaluation of new anti-cancer drugs as principal investigator of contracts from the National Cancer Institute. From 1986 to 1994, he was also Chair of the Department of Oncology and Director of the NCI-designated Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center. During that time, Dr. Kovach, working with a molecular geneticist, Steve Sommer, M.D., Ph.D., published extensively on patterns of acquired mutations in human cancer cells as markers of environmental mutagens and as potential indicators of breast cancer patient prognosis. Dr. Kovach has published over 100 articles on the pharmacology, toxicity and effectiveness of anti-cancer treatments and on the molecular epidemiology of breast cancer.
Effective February 23, 2017, Dr. Kovach retired from his part-time (50%) academic position at SUNY – Stony Brook, as a result of which he has been devoting 100% of his time to our business activities since that date.
